#short movies but surreal. edited photographs (

[beetroot-merchant]

we need more surreal art that isnt the drawn/painted kind

[sweetestlamb]

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Author’s note: I’m back. I'm too tired to edit this or write this note. This wasn't the chapter I had planned but I needed a moment to ease back into this couple, writing this felt like coming home. It's short but for those of you who have been patiently waiting and checking on this story still, I hope you enjoy this.

It’s surreal like looking at a character in a movie, brightly colored bruises and cuts littering a young body- all in places that are easy to hide. She remembers tugging layers onto her sore beaten body trying not to wince with each move and failing more often than not. She remembers it all too well yet, the photos still take her by surprise. Was this what she looked like? She can almost hear the soft music that plays over the commercials about saving abused puppies, except she wasn't nearly as worthy of being saved it seemed because nobody ever cared enough to do anything.

She watches her body mature through the photographs, documenting years of her abuse. Her mother had been taking these for years, without her knowledge and seemingly no plan in mind. She doesn't remember leaving the school building, after receiving the envelope from Seojun everything else was a blur. She could have never imagined what she would see inside. Almost wanting to burn them all, hating seeing herself so helpless and pathetic. But it was evidence right? But was it worth showing this disgusting part of herself to anyone else? She couldn't figure that out, hands trembling as she thumbs through the worst moments of her life.

"Don't cry."

She almost jumps, suddenly realizing that she's not alone. He'd taken her hand and led her home- his home and she'd been too distracted to say anything. Jukyeong and Su-ah both calling out to her before stopping at whatever look they saw on her face. She was too numb to analyze what they might have seen.

"You're breaking my heart princess." This time he reaches across brushing the lone tear dripping down her face. That only summons more, hotter and more rampant than the first and once she starts it's impossible to stop. He stares at her with glossy dark eyes, looking like he can feel every bit of her pain.

"Hold me.” 

He reacts so quickly that she hardly has time to process that she was the one who uttered those words. Holding her so tightly that she thinks it might actually stop her from breaking apart. Seojun makes soft cooing noises by her ears and his devotion only makes her cry harder, if only he'd been there earlier in her life when she most needed someone. If only her own parents could have loved her the way he seemed to.

She doesn't allow herself to question her word choice, already too overwhelmed.

"Seojun."

He hums his response rocking her slowly while stroking her hair. She's never been held so tenderly like she's something precious, not until he skidded into her life.

"Will you help me?" It's scary to ask that so candidly, terrifying how much she's come to rely on him. He could break her heart easily and she's the one that's given him that power.

"Anything you need. Tell me and it's yours." She has to bite down to stop from saying "you" even though a tiny voice in her head quips that asking for that would be redundant.

"Suho." She whispers and then feels the muscles keeping her upright tense up and as she peers up into his glowering face, she watches him smother out the red hot emotion that temporarily rares its ugly face. She pretends not to notice, burying her face deeper into his chest fingers twisted in the soft material of his shirt.

"I need to call Suho and his father. My moth- I mean that woman gave me evidence. The envelope has.....pictures of me. Pictures from those moments."

Seojun says nothing, his anger palpable in the air around them she can faintly hear his teeth grinding.

"She took pictures?" He asks incredulous but after a moment's pause and deep breath he extracts his phone from his pocket, never letting her go pressing her deeper into his chest as if he wants to protect her from the world.

If only it were that simple.

The conversation is short, clipped almost. She knows it's for her sake, she still hasn't forgiven Suho and Seojun is loyal, painfully so. He's frank on the phone robotically explaining the situation, but she catches a vein twitching in his forehead, his only tell. The court date was fast approaching, and this changed everything. Now it wouldn't merely be her words against him. The pictures would speak loudly.

She hoped they would be enough.

But she was scared. Scared of people looking at her with badly disguised pity. Scared of being seen as a broken victim her entire life.

"You're shaking. Are you sure about this?" He rubs her in wide swipes, up and down throwing the phone to the side. She didn't even notice when the voices had stopped.

"I'm not. I'm......scared. I don't want anyone to see how..."She bites out embarrassed, but he interrupts her self loathing rant, "You're the bravest person I know. You did nothing wrong, you shouldn't feel any shame because of these," he motions to the pictures not once trying to peek at them. "You were the victim, but you don't have to stay like that. You're choosing to fight back and Sujin, I'm so fucking proud of you."

She stares in awe, at his praise, the aching look in his eyes, the novelty of him saying her name. Everything shocks her to her core.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

She thinks it so hard that the thought almost escapes her mental prison but she forces her tongue not to speak her secret.

"Can I stay with you?"

They're alone. It had surprised her but his mother and sister were out of town visiting a distant aunt she'd never heard of.

He raised an eyebrow at the request, flopping onto the bed with a sigh.

"My mother is gonna kill me. "

That's a yes. Su-ah would happily welcome her back into her house, but she couldn't pretend she was okay right now and her parents knew nothing. She needed someone she didn't have to pretend with, someone who saw her and at times saw through her.

They have ramen for dinner. Eaten straight from the pot, the steam warming her face. Then they end up on the couch, television droning about the latest skin care product but she can barely hear over the constant thumping of his heart.

"You're... nervous?"

She's not even teasing, genuinely shocked at the rate of his heartbeat despite them doing nothing.

He clears his throat staring at a spot on the wall before answering, "I know nothing is going to happen. But I can't help my thoughts, I can't help the way I feel when you're in my arms. I promise I won't try anything, so don't be scared."

She almost laughs, as if she could be scared of him now. This is the safest she's felt in a long time, in his arms. It feels like nothing can touch her here.

"I'm not scared of you."

He lets out a soft sigh of relief. Tugging her closer and she nuzzles into his shoulder.

"What kind of thoughts are you having?" She adds curiously, even more so when he starts to choke on air coughing and sputtering as she watches mildly amused at the drastic reaction.

"Nothing you need to worry about." He squeaks out voice breathy and she locks eyes with him, refusing to look away.

"Are they anything like the thoughts I have?" He stills at her question, eyes wide and frantic. His fear gives her courage, enough to say what's on her mind.

"I think about kissing you. Like the one on the rooftop and the one on your bed. I think about you with...less on and your skin on mine." He's breathing harder now, eyes too bright and color flooding his cheeks but she carries on, fearless now.

"I dream about you sometimes. It feels so real that I wake up reaching for you, remembering how you felt on me. Your lips, your hands, your tongue..”

He covers her mouth, staring at her with a look that she only sees in wildest dreams.

"Stop. Please."

She stares back at him, eyes wondering all over his face before nodding in embarrassment she said too much. She feels like a fool.

It takes Herculean strength not to run away from him and hide, she puts on a mask of indifference.

"I can't think about you like that right now, I'm not strong enough to hear those things and not jump you. I'm happy you trust me but I'm still a man, and you're still the woman I want in every way possible. Try to remember that before you tell me about your dreams, alone with me in my house."

He leans so close to her that he's practically breathing each word into her mouth, and she wants to kiss him and forget everything else in her sham of a life. Fuck her father, why couldn't she be like a regular teenager? Why couldn't her biggest concern whether or not she should have sex with her boyfriend who she very much wanted? Why couldn't life be that simple?

"When this is all over, I want you to be my first."

He stops, everything even breathing before grabbing her face, blinking wildly his mouth opening and closing but no sound being released. He looks devastated, she's never felt more powerful or desired.

She kisses him before he has a chance to do anything. At least for tonight she can be someone else, someone bold enough to sit on her boyfriend's lap while his family's away and rake her fingers through his hair as she pushes her tongue into his mouth.

Tomorrow, the fight will begin again but tonight she can hide in his arms and be protected.

[bopinion]

Book of the month / 2020 / 09 September

I love books. Even though I hardly read any. Because my library is more like a collection of tomes, coffee-table books, limited editions... in short: books in which not "only" the content counts, but also the editorial performance, the presentation, the curating of the topic - the book as a total work of art itself.

The Art of Burning Man

NK Guy

Photo documentary / 2018 / Taschen publishing house

"Once a year, at the close of the summer, from the barren clay of the Nevada desert rises a temporary city. Dust storms and extreme weather. Towering art installations on a vast canvas like no other. This is Burning Man."

I was coming of age and active at the time of big (music) festivals like Rock am Ring or Loveparade. Today I think back with shivers to mud battles, broken toilets, warm beer, traffic chaos and questionable sound quality. In addition, good music is not enough to get me up for an appropriate trip. Today, it takes art to lure me to Kassel or Venice. Too bad that there is no combination of it. Wait ... just a moment! There was something? Yes, exactly: Fusion events! And while my teenage daughter is dreaming of Coachella, it's for me: Burning Man.

The concept fascinates me. Megahappening, spiritual adventure, community experience, desert rave, social experiment, largest stage in the world, surreal sculpture park in the middle of nowhere. Burning Man is one of those events that don't fit into any pigeonhole, that don't have a clear label. Once a year, a community of meanwhile more than 70,000 (and access is limited, tickets have to be raffled due to high demand) artists, activists, art lovers and life artists meet to create a multiverse in the middle of nowhere, a global quantum kaleidoscope of possibility. Black Rock City is the name of the ephemeral city in the desert, 100 miles away from civilization, which disappears after a week. Completely, as if nothing had happened, sustainable, because not a shred of human legacy remains.

Because that is why Burning Man bears this name. Because a work of art that is present every year, a wooden sculpture up to 30 m high that represents a human being, is burned in the end. Other works of art are created especially for this event: A Trojan horse, a mechanical fire-breathing squid, cafés in gigantic teapots, lots of creative temples and crazy vehicles. This festival is the incubator for some of the most extraordinary works of art in public space worldwide. One of the cultural epicenters of our time. It stands for pure, uninhibited artistic expression.

In fact, I know a type of artist who has already set out on this pilgrimage several times. At the end of the 80's, I was in French Canada for a year with, among others, the Japanese Yoshiki Takahashi for an intercultural exchange. The daily newspaper La Presse wrote about the two of us at the time that these two young people interested in culture had fallen in love with Quebec and its lifestyle. Yoshiki wore an earring then, at that time in Japan a clear commitment to the revolutionary. Today, at the age of 50, he wears bright red dreadlocks, leather jackets and jumper boots. And works as a reviewer for alternative films, poster artist for B-movies and author on the dark side of the film scene. So he has remained a revolutionary - and a culture enthusiast. A guy like him is just right for such a crazy desert happening.

All I have left are stories and photos to rave about Burning Man. On the Internet and as a book. Because, no surprise, my favorite publisher Taschen has of course published a book about the event or even more about his art. NK Guy is a Canadian writer and photographer living in the UK. As a writer, he has excelled mainly with reference books on photography and its techniques, such as "The Lens: A Practical Guide for the Creative Photographer". But it seems that his true passion belongs to what can happen in front of the lens of his camera. For a decade and a half, he documented the art of Burning Man every year, accumulating a veritable treasure trove of images from the exuberant artistic creativity of this festival.

Taschen comments: "His dazzling images record these participatory, collective, intrinsically ephemeral installations and happenings in the desert, which exist for no clearer purpose than because someone wanted to express something. The result is testimony to a realm far beyond the ego, commerce, and power play of mainstream cultural output." Put more simply: this book is as cool as its subject.

This year Burning Man was cancelled - like so many other things in the face of the Corona crisis. I very much hope that a relaunch will succeed in the near future. And I will have the lottery money and the lottery luck to get tickets in time. To travel to Nevada. To fulfill a dream. And to pretend together with Yoshiki that we are even younger ;-)

And here is the website of the organizers of this remarkable event:

https://burningman.org

[letterboxd]

America Lobotomized: The Rick Alverson Q&A.

“If I have any value now, my responsibility lies in nurturing the limitations of cinema and making them apparent.” —Filmmaker Rick Alverson chats with us about the irrelevance of ‘consumer cinema’, the fascinating failure of masculinity, and causing trouble with Jeff Goldblum.

Musician, writer and director Rick Alverson makes the kind of films that are, as Letterboxd member DirkH enthuses, “hard to love and impossible to enjoy”. One of the decade’s most challenging directors, his confrontational style is take-it-or-leave-it, but those who like to take it find something deeply profound in his take-downs of concepts like the American Dream.

Alverson’s newest feature, The Mountain, departs from the ironic realism of his earlier films, creating a lushly immaculate, desolate poke at American society. Set in the 1950s, The Mountain is loosely based on the controversial American neurologist Walter Freeman, here represented as the fictional Dr Wallace Fiennes.

While Alverson’s earlier films have tapped into the twisted comic talent of Tim and Eric (and friends), The Mountain uses the hefty star power of Jeff Goldblum (also a Tim and Eric alumnus) against itself, with Tye Sheridan (of the vulgar mime act in Alverson’s Entertainment) as a mostly wordless photographer who is selected to follow Goldblum’s Dr Fiennes on an asylum tour. French great Denis Lavant appears as an unconventional healer, in one of his few English-language roles; Alverson unleashes him at will.

“A rigorous, alienating work about the rot at the core of the nation”, The Mountain divided audiences when it premiered at Venice last year, and divides Letterboxd members still. “Easy answers don’t always have to be there,” writes Allison, “but it quickly became pointless and even monotonous.” “A modern master is at work,” counters Tyler. “It’s rare in these times to find a movie so precise. Every cut reveals a wonderful new, immaculately composed shot.”

Tye Sheridan and Jeff Goldblum in ‘The Mountain’ (2018).

Can you talk about when and how you got the inspiration for the premise of The Mountain and why you felt now was the right time to make this film? Rick Alverson: I’ve had an interest that I’ve explored since The Comedy and Entertainment where I’m trying to comprehend what fuels this blind propulsion of American progress in today’s political climate, where we’re romanticizing the white male privilege era of the 1950s.

It’s also something often romanticized in American cinema; if not in its subject matter, then it’s romanticized in its formal depiction. I wanted to take that on and watch it deflate and see how it would hold up to a more nuanced and muddy immersion of the era.

You’ve described the film as anti-utopian. Do you think nostalgia is a dangerous thing? Nostalgia is definitely a very rich intoxicant that’s difficult to pull oneself away from. Commercial American cinema peddles almost entirely on those triggers of compartmentalized representation and clean—marginally pornographic—singular dimensions. I find that troubling to some degree because it pretends to be something else.

The remake of The Lion King kinda sums that up. [Chuckles] Yeah.

Toxic masculinity has been central to many of your films and it’s in many ways the enemy of the moment right now. You’ve been ahead of the game in a way. Is that always your starting point? What influenced you to focus on men at their worst? I was raised at a time with influences that come from particular periods so there was a binary presentation of masculinity and I think it’s something that men are mired in. That has been problematic for men in a way that stripped away the wholeness of an individual.

Frailty, or a nuance of communication, hadn’t been as accessible to a generation of men, and that crippled them in a way which inflamed the damage that they did in their privileged space and [for] everyone around them. It’s a cyclone. In my demographic, we have been exposed to that, caught in it, and wrestled with it. Maybe that’s why I look at it so much.

I find failure in masculinity fascinating, too. The problematic American ‘wandering cinema’ of the 1970s is what made me want to do what I do. It’s the great unsung song of cinema that fell out of favor by the 1980s.

As a working American filmmaker, do you feel it’s your social responsibility to use your medium to comment on and expose what you’re seeing happening in this country? Is this your version of political activism? [Laughs] Maybe. I think that there needs to be a politics of form. It’s the responsibility of filmmakers to not be ignorant of this gesture and what it does to the population. There’s a responsibility of cinema to ask itself some very hard questions before it ends up wrapping into total irrelevancy. What is narrative? What value does it have? How is it destructive? How is it being used for destruction? Is it functional anymore? I think that a lot of consumer cinema doesn’t ask those questions because it’s afraid to expose its vulnerabilities or its potential irrelevance.

How did your experience with Entertainment affect your approach to The Mountain? Entertainment was the first film that played with cinematic influences that I had. It played with things that kind of grossed me out in cinema, with the defaults of metaphors and symbolism to create false profundities.

With The Comedy, I was focusing on a subset of class privilege in nuclear centers like New York City that I find reprehensible. I wanted to engage with it, investigate how to understand it, and make myself uncomfortable. Suddenly the medium felt a little more vital to me. It wasn’t just a propagandistic grandstanding, where essentially I would be showing off my likes and dislikes. I try to play a cat-and-mouse game with my own comfort and hopefully the audience finds some vitality in that.

Your last two films have felt very surreal, stylistically. They’re more lush yet still quite detached. What’s compelling you to stray from the slice-of-life realism you were using with your first few films? I had always wanted to have a career working with non-actors, but as I’ve gradually become more interested in the problems that make me uncomfortable I find myself engaging with them head-on, instead of just ignoring them for my comfort zone. The unreality of cinema has also become increasingly interesting to me.

There are some obsessive-compulsive approaches I took in The Mountain, which viewers might not see off-hand, that sort of heighten that falseness. Nobody leaves or enters the frame unless they go through a door. I’ve padded and loaded the film with limitations and, if I have any value now, my responsibility lies in nurturing the limitations of cinema and making them apparent.

For a long time we’ve been living in a fantasy land of unlimited potential and an abundance of opportunity, but the fact of the matter is we’ve been ignoring the beauty of the finite quality of the world. I think the same thing goes for cinema.

You’ve mentioned before that you don’t usually stick to a script but you did this time, though obviously the film utilizes a lot of long pauses and still imagery. Do you map out this sense of pacing in the script, or is there an element of you finding the film in the editing suite? How important is the sense of discovery in post for you? Editing the movie is incremental in its own way. But for me, the film really becomes alive during production and I find the pacing there. As far as mapping out those things in the script goes, it’s an obligation that I find tedious sometimes. My scripts used to be very short but they’re longer now because they’re a little bit more traditional on the page.

I do relish the moment when something isn’t satisfying our expectations. There’s a very exciting moment there when you let the comfort of distance go on too long. If you curtail it in the right way, it’s like surfing.

This is a reunion between you and Tye Sheridan. He’s grown a lot since Entertainment, very literally too. Yeah, at least 4 or 5 inches.

Was he your first choice for the role? How did he contribute to the film beyond what you and your co-writers had on the page? He was my first choice and we developed the film together. It was an idea I brought to him when Entertainment wrapped. I talked to him about playing a ‘black hole’—something neutral at the centre of everything—that the whole world would move around.

He has a tremendous amount of patience and generosity. He’s very disciplined and we had a lot of fun subverting some of his capacities for empathy and fragility as an actor to make him inaccessible. That was a mission statement for us.

His character is very literally an audience surrogate. He’s passive, then he becomes pacified. I’m wondering what that says about what you think of your own audience? Do you feel unheard and misunderstood? It’s hard to say. I guess we’re interested in the reception of the film because I do want to engage an audience and there’re all sort of experiments in flirtation of audience expectations—in a constructive sense, I hope.

I do think that audiences have been conditioned to prefer pacificity and media as an anesthesia. I’m trying in my little way to interrupt that. Maybe I’m just having a fit in the corner of the room, I don’t know.

So how did Jeff Goldblum come on board? I was very surprised to see him attached to one of your films, unless I’m underestimating his taste in modern arthouse cinema. He’s getting in the mud of it all. He’s up for anything these days. I think he’s having not just a popularity revival but a revival of his artistic interests. Jeff has a tremendous amount of vitality and he was very interested in causing a small trouble with me.

Director Rick Alverson.

In what way? He wanted to subvert expectations of the audiences of how they’ve considered him and what he does for them and we utilized that. He’s really keen and smart and I think he understood that it could have a potency in the film. This is one of his more muted performances, even though the personality of Goldblum percolates out of that. He restrained himself in a way I found really refreshing.

We really want to commend your location scout on a fantastic job. What were you looking for in the production design and the sets? Especially for the final shot. The final shot was its own kind of nightmare. We shot that on Mount Baker on the Canadian border in Washington and we isolated the location based on this expanse that’s usually full of four or five feet of snow most of the year. The night before we shot, they plowed all that snow for the parking lot underneath. Those sorts of things drive you crazy.

My production designer Jacqueline Abrahams—who worked on The Lobster among other great films—is an incredibly keen, hardworking person. We wanted to neuter some of the romance of the era, to make it muddy and give it a bland complexity. Obviously when making a period film, the production design and costume design are the most difficult but nerve-wrecking and exciting tools in the whole toolbox. I think we came at it obliquely enough that it became interesting.

Are you still hoping to make your KKK film soon? Now should be the time, right? I’d like to move back to it, but I’ve moved onto another project for now [a horror movie and a comedy series, according to IndieWire]. It still fascinates me, but I don’t want to be too reactionary. It’s a tough time now, for a lot of things.

Would you say you’re drawn to films similar to yours? What are your favorite recent films that challenged you? Oh gosh. The other day I saw Slack Bay by Bruno Dumont, which I found very funny. I’m sorry, I’m terrible at this question.

I’d say that’s a very on-brand choice for you. Thank you.

‘The Mountain’ is in select French cinemas now and opens in US cinemas on August 2.

[hnd1areillyben-blog]

Personal Reflection/Evaluation

BLOCK 1 - - - 

Clean white project :

In starting the year, this as the first major project set in the studio, where it involved us having to research various studio lit portraits that reflected the brief.

It was a challenge figuring out how the lights interacted with the background and the camera, how to create a clean white background whilst also setting the camera at the right settings.

After getting to grips with the lights, it became enjoyable to try and replicate the research image by controlling the light with various attachments and such.

Seeing the light :

A series of four portraits shot in broad daylight, in essence capturing different qualities of light and applying the light to people of different genders and ages.

I really enjoyed this project, which I believe was very underappreciated, because at the time I was a little bit under confident with speaking to people. Due to my work title, and by having to approach strangers to photograph in this project, it really boosted my confidence which is always a plus!

Who Am I? :

The personal project for things that describe who we are. The goal was to create a canvas with 3 images in the form of a triptych.

One image being a self portrait, another being a location that means something to us or has a special place in our hearts, and an object that holds personal significance.

I loved this project as it allowed me to be creative and express my passions through photography in the same way I imagine my passions in my own head. 

OVERALL ****

The first block was very insightful due to learning my own way on how to research for projects and various reports. Learning some new techniques was also very helpful, and learning how to process / develop / print through the film medium was an incredible journey. I settled in nicely with the class, the lecturers and the workflow, which would continue to be true all the way through.

BLOCK 2 - - -

Catch me if you can :

Originally meant for block 1, but recommended to be submitted by block 2, Catch me if you can, was a sports based project where I would shoot an array of photographs of a live (ticketed) sports event.

The shoot itself went incredibly well, couldn't be more pleased with the results in terms of photographs... in other aspects, the project almost failed very badly.

To describe where I went wrong, I must express my brief moment of stupidity during a morning where I was changing the battery in my Canon DSLR... in the battery compartment, there lies the significantly smaller battery that keeps things like user settings, date/time and things like that saved to the camera so that its the correct date and time and things like that. I stupidly took it out by mistake and placed it back in (not knowing the consequences) I then set the time and didn't have time to set the date properly, making it obviously incorrect. 

After shooting it appeared to be that the event was shot before the brief, but after an explanation of my errors, it was soon overlooked and became okay again.

Gift : 

The second major project shot in the studio, we were given an object by our lecturer and told to create a still life image within, showing off the image in an abstract manner

in my case I was gifted a razor, with a strange two toned rubberised, plastic ribbed texture. placing it on warped reflective sheet of thick Perspex plastic.

By using a modelling lamp with blue gel in the background and a set of barn doors to the right side of the set, I was able to capture a silhouette of the objects form, and also light up some detail. 

the blue background that appeared like harsh waves with highlights, makes the image feel cold, and when combined with the look of the object and its reflections, results in a harrowing still life.

I really enjoyed this project as it further allowed me to become creative with the studio.

Recycle :

The basis of this project was to shoot a still life in the studio of something that was used, or old. 

I have always loved the look of old style renaissance art paintings from the 17th century and roundabout that era of time, I wanted to recreate that sort of image, with the same lighting which would then produce the same emotional response to viewers.

I got to learn different attachments for the lights and their purposes, for how to effectively light the still life. By using a soft box to emulate a natural warm summers afternoon light sweeping in from the right side, a snoot attachment for an overhead light to light up the details in the wicker basket, book and coins, and finally a barn doors to bring out little details in the background.

If I was to shoot this project again I would have brought the still life further forwards away from the background to allow for better background lighting, but in terms of the style I was going for, the end result was very effective.

Movie poster : 

I absolutely loved this project, shooting the segments of the poster separately, editing (especially editing).

I chose to shoot through a tunnel, which was full front lit by natural light, and where the other end of the tunnel leaked in a lot of light too. 

I then replicated the direction of the light in the studio with shooting a full body portrait of my model (which was, granted, a challenge and also recommended not to do by the lecturers), but in the end it worked out very well.

I stitched the model into the background, and spent some time one night learning how to create realistic fog through photoshop, and adding in small details that made the image look very ominous.

I added text in for the movie title and other miscellaneous actors and date of release. For the main title I chose a base font and applied a slight gradient from grey to white, then by using the smudge tool I was able to distort the text and allow it to fade slightly, and also smudged the other fonts to make them appear unique and more personalised for the genre.

Unseen and move it :

Move it, the short film project, has went very well so far and should be on time for the block 2 deadline, I really enjoyed shooting the film and researching techniques and ideas. I believe that my video skills aren't the greatest and do need some work, but I still enjoyed the project none the less!

Unseen.... I am absolutely loving the creative scope with this specialised photography. I have always been interested in surreal photography, using the infrared spectrum of light, and after shooting with converted cameras, I feel like I have finally found a very keen interest in the specialised world of photography. I think I might pursue infrared photography for my personal project.

Live project : 

I work part time at the weekends as a wedding photographer / studio assistant for commercial, wedding and various events. For the live project I was able to use images I had shot for clientele work to become my submission for Live.

I absolutely love the experience of this sort of photography - photography part aside, I just love being a part of someone's most memorable day, and capturing the journey for them to look back upon and relive their wedding combined with my love for photography allows me to use my photographic skills to not only create wonderful images, but also apply them skills to my job. 

I feel like the course and my job go hand in hand, learning so much about photography over the past year through both the course and my job, has made me incredibly confident in shooting lots of different subjects, and has fueled my passion and drive for photography.

[jayprieto]

Therefore I Am from Peter McCoubrey on Vimeo.

A mysterious encounter between a man who claims to be from the future and the man that he claims is his former self. A surreal psychological thriller about loss and regret.

Terry Gilliam: "...very well done. I was surprised when it ended, I thought we were off on a much longer journey. Seeing that room filled with all the variations made me want to spend a lot of time with the problems that it would raise."

petermccoubrey.com Original Soundtrack by Ron Patane - itun.es/us/yz6-4

CRACKED EYE - crackedeye.com/video/therefore-i-am

io9 - "In Therefore I Am, the McCoubrey brothers create a compelling time travel mystery in just six minutes. It leaves you with questions, BUT in a good way... It’s so slickly done, the editing seamlessly moving from one encounter to another. It’s great." io9.com/in-this-trippy-short-film-a-man-meets-every-possible-f-1740505785

FIRST SHOWING - " Get ready for a mindf*ck with this one... It is a "a time travel story", but not in the way you think. It reminds me a bit of that short Interview With a Time Traveler, but even more intelligent." firstshowing.net/2015/watch-impressive-surreal-time-travel-short-film-therefore-i-am/

DISINFORMATION - "The McCoubrey Brothers have once again made a hauntingly atmospheric short worthy of seven minutes of your time." disinfo.com/2015/11/therefore-i-am/

AIN'T IT COOL - "(the) McCoubreys' have given us a time travel film that feels original - something I can't help but be impressed by... This thing is packed to the brim with solid performances, strong visuals, and a kickass score!" aintitcool.com/node/73659

DIGG - "Today's Best Short" digg.com/video/therefore-i-am-short-film

SCREEN ANARCHY - "a very well crafted bit of work built around a simple, and very well executed, idea" screenanarchy.com/2015/11/watch-the-mccoubrey-brothers-indie-scifi-short-therefore-i-am.html

GEEK TYRANT - "Are you ready to have mind messed with? Therefore I Am is a very intelligent film that I know film buffs will enjoy." geektyrant.com/news/stylish-and-intriguing-sci-fi-psychological-thriller-therefore-i-am

GEEK ART GALLERY - "The McCoubrey Brothers are quickly garnering a reputation for enigmatic films, and they pack a lot of small details and subtle implications into this short." geekartgallery.blogspot.com/2015/11/short-film-therefore-i-am.html

MOVIE PILOT "The time-traveling suspense of Therefore I Am needs less than seven minutes sitting in both older and younger Herbert's shoes to get your heart pumping... So many questions in such a short amount of time. Therefore I Am delivers mystery and suspense in the best possible way." moviepilot.com/posts/3662672

LIVE FOR FILMS - liveforfilms.com/2015/11/06/cool-short-therefore-i-am/ LO-FI SCI-FI - lofiscifi.com/therefore-i-am-short-film/

FILM FESTIVALS: NITEHAWK SHORTS FESTIVAL - Brooklyn, NY November, 2015

Check out our previous short film and Vimeo Staff Pick 'The Grey Matter' vimeo.com/112527960

STARRING Older Herberts - KEVIN BREZNAHAN (Superbad, Winter's Bone) imdb.com/name/nm0108362 Younger Herbert - JD TAYLOR imdb.com/name/nm3682650

Directed by THE MCCOUBREY BROTHERS mccoubreybrothers.com Written by PETER MCCOUBREY imdb.com/name/nm1203494 Produced by CODY RYDER imdb.com/name/nm2291162 Director of Photography LUKE MCCOUBREY lukemccoubrey-dp.com

Music & Sound Design RON PATANE imdb.com/name/nm1219505/ Production Designer LATISHA DUARTE latishaduarte.com Costume Designer JACLYN MCCOUBREY jaclynmccoubrey.com Make Up FX & Hair ANNA BEARMAN imdb.com/name/nm3900655/ Casting Directors FAYE GRANDE & DAVID MORRIS grandemorriscasting.com Make Up Assistant TALYSHA HAZLETON tallyhoe1025.wix.com/moneemakeup#!contact/c175r 1st Assistant Camera CLAIR POPKIN imdb.com/name/nm2422752/ ERIC SCHWAEGER imdb.com/name/nm4035914/

Sound Mixer ALBERTO LEON imdb.com/name/nm4032359/ Gaffer ADAM LUKENS imdb.com/name/nm1935022/ Motion Control Tech NICK MIDWIG imdb.com/name/nm3541831/ Stills Photographer MIKE NOGAMI mikenogami.com Production Assistants JASON GREY imdb.com/name/nm3830114/ ED LOUIS linkedin.com/pub/ed-louis/13/71b/992 Colorist TIM ZIEGLER imdb.com/name/nm2513648/ Re-Reording Mixer DAN TIMMONS imdb.com/name/nm3535024/

©2015 McCoubrey Films LLC

[hnd1bjordimoleromora]

Illuminate: Research

Harold Ross

He is an American photographer that specializes in using the painting with light on location at night and in studio.

Pumpkins by Harold Ross

From <https://static.livebooks.com/b53f895fe6ce49ff8a13a0ac36a469bd/i/e23df3fdd43a4698843ab4c4af0fa631/1/GCuCv726vxAVM9sgguVj4g/PumpkinsLB8.jpg?dpr=2>

In this image the direction of light is uneven, in each pumpkin the shadow and highlight seems to come from a central, and invisible point making it surreal yet in a familiar setting, believable but at the same time surreal.

Gregory Crewdson

He is an American Photographer that specialises on shooting tableaus of American families, homes, neighbourhood scenes.

Beneath the roses by Gregory Crewdson

From <https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58e0d2b73a0411db1e2cdb09/t/5c4dc3804fa51a7413b41df8/1548600202288/learn-from-the-masters-gregory-crewdson-beneath-the-roses-3.jpg?format=1500w>

This image is has a movie flair to it. There's a big mixture of light sources and colour temperatures that ends in a beautiful palette. The focus here is in story telling which is highlighted using light and contrast.

Jan Leonardo Wöllert

German photographer  started his career by specializing in nighttime pictures and has since shifted his focus to the field of light art performance photography.

Golden field by Jan Leandro From http://www.lightart-photography.de/en/portfolio/landscape-02-2/

In this image the light is quite believable and uniform despite the huge scale of the subject covered.

Tim Simmons

He is an English photographer which is interested in landscape, geography and time. His work encourages to see the landscape in a different way.

From <http://www.sorryzorrito.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tim-simmons-p.jpg>

In this image, the light is purposefully different that it would look like if it came from the sun. It comes from behind revealing texture while not revealing the light source and keeping  it uniform.

Floris Van Bruegel

An American artist that it's interested in nature and landscape.

Fluorescent Treasures II" by Floris Van Breugel From <https://www.artinnaturephotography.com/photo/fluorescent-minerals/?gallery=favorites>

In this image the light source is  a short wave UV light that not only brings the subject to light but it reveals details that cannot be appreciated with the naked eye. The light is uniform and clean.

Methods to reduce noise

- Shoot using the lowest ISO possible. Low ISO should produce cleaner images than highest ISO. Shooting in low light environments that will mean using slower shutter speeds, so tripods are needed. - Using Noise Reduction settings on camera for long exposures. Long exposure makes the sensor hotter which produces more noise. Some cameras include a Noise Reduction feature to balance it. - Shooting with the right exposure. Figuring out the right exposure before shooting can minimize editing. In Post production, changing the exposure values can result in more noise. - Keeping the sensor cool. Leave enough time to the sensor to cool down between shots - Choosing a full frame camera. Full Frame cameras have larger sensor than cropped cameras which results in less digital noise - Reducing the noise in postproduction: on Photoshop and Lightroom digital noise can be reduced in exchange of loss of detail. Balancing it and acting locally can make an image look cleaner.

[namitaylor1-blog]

Major self directed Media based artwork.

Before starting my media based artwork I looked to my favourite artists; Wes Anderson and Nadia Lee Cphen, to gain some inspiration. I further looked at various installation artworks, one that stood out to me the most is Tracey Emin ‘My Bed’. With the help of these artists I was able to come to the conclusion of creating my own installation for my overall artwork. I knew I wanted to focus on portraiture and play with the theme surrealism by manipulating the time and situation within my work. Further, I think it would be interesting to incorporate a high fashion theme amongst my images to add individuality and character towards my series of photographs. 

INSPIRATION

Wes Anderson is a American filmmaker who is well known for his distinctive visual and narrative styles. ‘Moon Rise Kingdom’ (2012), really stood out to me through the use of colours and composition that was used throughout the whole movie.

His techniques within filmmaking has always been intriguing to the public, I would liker to adapt such skills and intertwine them into my own images but still maintaining my own style. By indulging myself within the world of Andersons I’m able to gain a rich understanding of composition and the overall style that will help me in my final project. 

Nadia lee Cohen is a British filmmaker and self-portrait artist. Her style mainly focuses on the 1950-70s American and British cinema that is portrayed specially through her series ‘Hello my name is’. 

Cohen’s unique style of photographs and films has always been extremely satisfying to the eye. She creates captivating images through her unique skills in what seems like a materialistic world that she creates in studios and settings. In this series especially  has inspired me to create my own bizarre portrait photos. Her use of hair, makeup and costumes are all factors that build a somewhat plastic/fake appearances in each image creating a doll like figure. The posture of these subjects is what builds a strong composition and character that I will have to think about very carefully as I will only be using one piece of item with each image. I will have to use that to my own advantage to create a solid composition within the frame. 

Tracey Emin is an English artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. I looked closely at one of her most famous installations of all time, ‘My bed’ (1998). She was inspired by the aftermath of her bed following a bad-breakup. Surrounding her bed was crumpled tissues, cigarettes, empty vodka bottles, through this image she believed that this was a work of art. 

Installation view of Tracey Emin, My Bed, at the Turner Prize Exhibition, Tate Gallery, London, 1999-2000. 

I was inspired by  her use of various random objects and created it into a one large installation artwork. It makes you wonder all the little things that we own or collect over the years into one little section of your own home. I wanted to use this idea within my own work by incorporating one random object in my house to show our relationship with our belongings towards the audience. The messy and uncleaned bedroom creates a buzzer compositions as it is placed in the middle of a meusume. She expresses a personal response depicting vulnerability, a self-portrait that doesn’t veer from the messiness of depression and heartbreak. Where she comments the views and her own painful experience. 

Mario Testino is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer whose work is found mainly in international magazines such as Vouge, V Magazine and Vanity Fair. High fahsion  photography has always been an interest in mine through the use of set design, preprofessional models and the mood and styling of the overall photo. Testino creates emblematic images that have contributed to the success of high fashion brands while he challenges traditional views on gender by mixing masculinity and femininity and suggests sensuality rather than. sexuality. 

Right: Amiaya, Tokyo, 2018   Left: Mario Testino Document Journal, May , 2014 

Above it is clear that Testino captures the moment in time and brings out the humanity of his subjects, creating a connection between the model and the audience. His images are captivating to the eye using bright bold colours, he also draws on his printed work to create a two layer image to exemplify the chaos within the image. Further I chose Testino as one of my artist of inspiration as his works have always stood out to me, especially for this task I want to create a my own inspired high fashion photographs to create an editorial series based on context and situation. 

DEVELOPING IDEA 

Before capturing any photographs I've decided to to sketch out each image that I will be taking, to gain a better understanding fo what my series will ultimately look like.  As you can see each drawing has one coloured object item that will correspond with the outfits. I wanted to keep a colourful rainbow theme throughout each image to indorse a light-hearted mood for the audience. 

Red: In this image I will mainly focus on the the colour rose red. This strong vibrant colour will be structured by the object; Eiffel tower statue. 

Blue: The image will have a striking electric blue tone throughout the photo. I will be using a phone box as my prop. 

Pink: For this image I will be using a mannequin head wearing a pink bob wig as my prop. My model will be wearing a pink coat that will correspond to the wig. 

Green: The green pop wad a little tricky to find as I will also be using toilet paper in the image as my main prop. 

PRACTICE SHOOT 

Proofsheet

Evaluation: For this shoot I had to create my own little studio within my house. This was very tricky as I had to find multiple lamps and set them up facing towards the subject, however there was not enough lamps to achieve the studio lighting that I wanted. Resulting to using flash on my camera allowed me to get that bright image that I wanted. I worked with small colourful objects just so I can see how myself series will turn out. Overall I’m very pleased with my final mini practice shoot as it helped me know what camera settings I should use and how I should position my c camera for the actual shoots. 

SHOOT ONE: BLUE

Proofsheet

Evaluation: The blue images turned out exactly how I wanted and I’m very pleased knowing that there are potential images that I can use for my final series. I did have problem with the lighting as my flash was turning off and on. I did like the ones without flash but I would have to ensure all my other images have the same tone in colours to keep a theme throughout my images.

SHOOT TWO: GREEN  Proofsheet

Evaluation: This shoot was very tricky as I couldn’t find anything in my house that was green except this this three layered holder for tissue paper. My whole approach to this series is suppose to express quriky and playfulness however use toilet paper was very hard create a structured composition. Once again the lighting was going all over the play due to the flash turning off and on which made the images seen dark. There are a few images that the subject is holding the toilet paper that covers the entire frame however there is something still very off about these images that don’t quite fit into my series. I will have to see how I go for my next couple photos if I was to incorporate a green image of not.  SHOOT THREE: PINK 

Proofsheet 

Evaluation:  The test shoot did not go as well as I hoped it would due to the prop not suiting the overall image. I felt as if the mannequin head with the pink wig looked somewhat awkward and due to the flash it washed out the white face in an unpleasant way. Further, I used a flask but the i felt as if the small object did not justice and was failure once again. Thus, I’ve decided to not use these pink images in my final work and due to the short amount of time I have im enabled to repeat this pink shoot again.       SHOOT FOUR: RED  Proofsheet 

Evaluation: I am very pleased with this shoot as it turned out exactly how I expected. I was able to create new composition within each image by placing the Eiffel tower artefact around the photo. It was also very fun to shoot as it was quirky and random. As of right now the red and blue images are the only ones that turned out great but for the other ones I was very disappointed. I decided to do another photo shoot using the colour yellow that will hopefully stand out just the other primary colours. 

WEEK FIVE

FEEDBACK FROM TEACHER 

In today’s class I was able to discuss my overall idea to my teacher, Vicky and showed her my images that I have taken. Further, I discussed how I will be doing another shoot today with a yellow theme however we both agreed on just work on the blue and red images to create a more detailed image. She suggested to put a backdrop to add texture and more depth. I also decided to present my work in a large spacious room because it will allow the audience to  move amongst the space and interact with the objects. 

 I further went to the printing room to meet with Josh, where he helped me set up my images on Lightroom, however we discovered the image quality is very low due to my camera setting. This meant my images will not print in a high resolution causing it to look burly and having a lot of noise. Since I will be doing another shoot today I will have ensure that my camera is on the highest pixel where next Tuesday I will be able to print them in a higher resolution photo. 

Throughout the day I worked on my blog and edited a few parts. Later in the day I will hopefully be taking my last shoot for this task that will help improve my overall final work. 

PINTEREST INSPIRATION 

Before my shoot I wanted to look for more inspiration to really develop an idea throughout my images and to see what composition I’m aiming to create. I looked through Pinterest and found a couple of images that have really helped me gain an idea on how to develop my backdrop for my final images. 

SHOOT FIVE & SIX

Set up: For todays photo shoot I was able to get a ring light from a friend of mine which allowed me to achieve that bright studio lighting without using flash on my photos. In the early photo shoots my flash kept going off and on due to the auto setting, however this time I kept it off. Below, the images show a set up off my mini studio that I’ve created. You can see I had purchased fabric for my background and had to tape it to my wall creating riffles to add texture. 

SHOOT FIVE: RED & BLUE

Evaluation: I was very pleased with this photo shoot as I was able to pick two images for my final work. I made a few annotations on the proof sheet that describe which images I liked my ticking them and others that I found awkward or out fo place. 

EDITING & PRINTING 

Below is the two chosen images of red and blue photos. I have placed my edits of the red photo as you can see the before and after image. Where skin tone is now warmer and will suit nicely with the blue skin tone. I also had to  fill in the left bottom corner of the blue image to get rid of the white background. 

Then Josh helped me print test images on fine art smooth paper. This allowed me to view my printed images and see if the colours and tone on the screen matched with ones on the paper. Below is an image of the set up for printing the mini test prints. 

Here is a photo of Josh placing the art smooth paper A3 into the printer. 

TEST PRINTS 

I’m very pleased how my test print turned out as they were both successful. The skin in the red image was really balanced and complimented the other blue image. This ultimately made a nice duo. 

PRESENTATION

Below is my overall presentation setup. I had to pin up the print using a hammer however during this stage a couple of finger print marked my blue print. I then asked Izzy to help, we decided on taping a clear plastic seal at the edges of my image and hammer those down without touching my prints. 

Further, I placed two pillars infant of my photographs and put the objects on it. As you can see I placed a miniature version of the red chair on the pillar because it would of been impossible too bring the actual human size form chair to the University. Hopefully this alternative still manages to bring a high quality installation. 

(I tried to upload my final images on a google drive but it wouldn't upload because of the photos resolution being too high. I could email you the images so please let me know.) 

FINAL EVALUATION 

Overall, I am very pleased with my final media based artwork, as it turned out exactly how I wanted. Throughout the long process I was able to finally achieve my final images. By the last shoot I knew that I have came a long way, and was extremely happy how they turned out. The editing and printing stage ran smoothly with the help of Josh as we were able to achieve it in less than a hour. I learnt how to use Lightroom where he helped me edit the red image skin tone to match the blue one. We printed on shiny gloss paper however when I was hanging it up I accidentally go my finger prints on the image. This made me question if I ever wanna use glossy paper again but the overall look was spectacular. On the presentation day I was able to locate two block stands where I placed my two objects. The outcome was nicely placed however, if I was given more time and resources I would of done a whole large series, to really complete my vision. Thus, despite the lack of photos and time, Im very happy how the overall presentation was put together. 

ARTIST STATEMENT 

My media based artwork, “What the eye can't see”, focuses on beauty found within the mundane as we look beyond the superficial standards of human perception. The images tells a story, of a young women possessing the objects; a vintage phone box and a love heart chair,  that challenge our perception of beauty where these inanimate objects oppose our natural indications of beauty. Furthermore, the model becomes one with the objects where we start to associate beauty to a further extent than our natural standards. 

Inspired by situation and creating a time and place, each setting compliments the colour of the object, forming an aesthetic appeal to the series. By brining these objects to life by presenting them directly in front  of the audience it creates a layer of realism allowing us to maintain our focus on the bright vivid items. The interactive installation allows us to question our own individual associations of beauty, as we view two perspective; the images and the objects placed in front. Overall, by exploring humanities identities of true beauty and superficial perfection, my work looks beyond these standards viewing mundane items that provide its own natural beauty. 

[term2itmedia]

Cinema 4D and Unity - What are they capable of? + My Storyline Link to 1969/Apollo 11

OK, maybe I lied about that “final post” in the previous post. In this post, I’m going to explain what the software I used to make my digital outcome (the game) is capable of and what they are.

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is a 3D workstation software that is capable of creating realistic environments with a number of different shapes, such as discs, cylinders, cubes and even figure rigs.

Structures made in Cinema 4D can be edited in a huge number of ways, such as by extruding surfaces or sub-dividing them to make each end editable to make it more sloped or join them together to make a fake street with buildings, which is actually a cube edited in a way to make it look like many buildings, which is where another feature of Cinema 4D, material, comes into play.

An image of what looks like a giant reactor which many different components of machinery. Every object is made in such a way that it appears rusty or is metallic.

(image credits - www.c4dcafe.com and 3D Artist)

An image of a floating house with a jet engine, which appears to be flying at sunset or above a very cloudy wasteland.

These images was made in Cinema 4D using the different shapes and modifiers to make certain parts to stick on a large shape (i.e. bolts on the cylindrical top of the floating house or the rails/supports of the walkways).

“But what about the shade and the weird lighting?”

This is done by adding a Light object, which has different outcomes, such as Sun light, Infinite light and Spot light, which can be altered via rotation to get the appropriate scenery ambience, which is also how you make a sunset scene, or something like this:

(image credit - Maxon)

An image of a bed with light shining upon it with very detailed walls and... circles. Lots of circles.

Everything in Cinema 4D has started out as a singular 3D object and has been expanded with additional shapes and modifiers to make it appear more realistic, making these images look like they weren’t even made in Cinema 4D at all! They are so surreal, it is unbelievable that someone had made something like this in Cinema 4D. Must’ve taken them so many hours over a few months due to all of the details, plus the trial and error with the material textures.

My opinions on these images is that they look so real it looks like it was taken by a photographer in a very remote place, except the second one, which appears very obvious to be fake. I also think they are so good, the artists have no room for improvement.

But Cinema 4D is not all about making scenery, it is also for making characters.

Whether it’d be a character for a game or a 3D movie, you can make it in Cinema 4D. All you need is either a lot of patience in creating the right character rig, or you could just cheat and download a character rig for a base to go off of (trust me, MANY character creators do cheat like that at some point).

This character... I couldn’t find what he is from. He looks like an enemy from one of them Dragon Quest games, but I could be wrong.

Speaking of games...

Unity?

Unity is a cross-platform games engine that is used to create movies, games and environment designs. Like Cinema 4D, it is a 3D software, but it does have a 2D option to those who aren’t really fond of 3D design.

Unity is free, but it does have a paid option where you can get a fancy black theme... and that’s it. The default theme is white, and cannot be changed unless the black theme is paid for (or if you are a crazy hacker, which I’m not).

From the looks of these images, they look like some sort of dungeon-based role-playing game. I like the look of them based around my assumptions since the fire, darkness and lack of light gives it that really dark feeling that you’re in a dungeon.

But Unity isn’t just about making games, if you were reading carefully:

A picture of this isn’t enough so I thought I’d share the video itself.

The video starts out as what looks like an thin figure crossing a swampland, before cutting to a cyborg’s cell, where it falls and wires become detached from it’s back. It then escapes, to which it sees hundreds of other cyborgs, which are getting shot down by a nearby security group if they slow down behind their ancestors. They then walk away into the distance, and the film ends with the Unity logo showing up.

As the film tells you, it is made within the Unity engine, which is done with many different assets, cameras and keyframes.

Episode 1 is uploaded on the official Unity channel, while future episodes are uploaded on OATS Studios (see my first blog, term1itmedia for more about them), as they’re the ones who have made it.

It requires a lot of time, effort, trial and error to make something like this in Unity and this is why I like it. It has so much potential in becoming a feature length movie someday.

Unity and Cinema 4D are brilliant 3D software, however there may be a better software soon...

Link to 1969 Moon Landing/Apollo 11

In my game, M.A.R.Kour, I included lore at the beginning of it. If you don’t know what lore is, it is another word for a backstory, which gives a story behind something. It read:

It was the year 1969. Humans have set foot on the moon for the first time.

On the way back to Earth, they discovered a distant object covered in a layer of thick fog.

In an attempt to find out about this mysterious object, they have accidentally sent you instead as you went to space anyway. You are now trapped on this planet, known as Mars II.

Luckily, there is no life on the planet besides you. The only threats are lava and long falls.

This lore links to the 1969 moon landing since it states within the story itself that “it was the year 1969. Humans have set foot on the moon for the first time”, meaning this took place after the first humans have walked on the moon. The creative part comes in when it says “they discovered a distant object covered in a layer of thick fog”, which is why there is fog in the game.

The reason why you're on this planet is because it states “they have accidentally sent you instead as you went to space anyway”, meaning you have went to the Moon as well.

So, in the game, it is still 1969... at least until escape the planet and get back to Earth. Because it was such a short time-span, I didn’t have the time to implement a rocket using Cinema 4D to make a cutscene.

If you’re wondering, the inspiration behind the game was just the event itself. Nothing else. The design is just what I decided to go ham on. The land was originally grey, but I chose to make it purple because I like the colour.

[thorne93]

Decisions, Decisions (Part 5)

Prompt: Imagine Tom Hiddleston has a crush on you and he is feeling jealous of James McAvoy on “The Graham Norton Show” because James talks about how great the chemistry was between you, his co-star, and him in your latest film.

Warnings: language, sexual content, adult content…?

Word Count: 5007

Note: Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes​ - This fic would NOT be possible without you, and @amarvelouswritings​ - who let me badger the hell out of her. Thank you both a million! Used @theartofimagining13​ imagine

Also, some of the timelines are going to be off in this, to make stuff fit, and James’ wife and child are nonexistent - nothing against them, just easier to write if he didn’t have an ex wife and child. Texts are in italics

Tags: @wordacadabra   @frenchfrostpudding @lisssays @cocosierra94  @staceycasey123 @lucianightwolker @tacohead13

~~~~~~~~~~

Friday night you went to a few stores for some dresses. You found one thing you liked, and you reserved it for the “other” dress. But for the main dress to go to the premiere with Tom, you needed something dazzling. You spoke with Trish, your stylist, and asked her if she could work with Versace on a design you had in mind. She said she would work on it.

Tom was texting and calling quite frequently, sending you two more bouquets of flowers with another poem on each card. The calls became more familiar, a little more flirty, and you sent him a new watch to his hotel and some chocolates - since you knew they were his guilty pleasure.

James had contacted you a few times but he had a couple of interviews related to Split coming out soon so he was rather busy. But in a way it was good because you were able to spend more time and attention on Tom - that was a good thing, right? You weren’t so sure, you were already in so deep with both of these men, you didn’t need to have the decision be any harder than it was.

The premiere was tonight, Tuesday night and you were getting ready while Skyping with Ida.

“How is life going, secret agent?” she asked with a laugh.

“It’s good,” you answered as you grabbed the Versace gown that was one of a kind, pulling it out and grabbing the matching accessories Trish had picked for you.

“So….do they know yet?”

“No,” you said shrugging, taking your tablet into the bathroom while you curled your hair at your vanity and began applying makeup in your cute Victoria’s Secret robe that you got while being a guest model on the annual fashion show.

“But haven’t they seen the tabloids?”

“Yes, and I told them it was just dinner.”

“So you lied,” she surmised.

“No. We did have dinner.”

She sighed. “Alright. I can see you aren’t going to be honest with them.”

“Ida, how can I? If I come out and say ‘I’m dating both of you because I don’t know who I like more’, they are going to make the decision for me and I don’t want that. Let’s get of this topic please. How is the article coming?”

“I meet with MTV in an hour. So far so good. I got some good material from Guns n Roses.”

“Nice. I bet that was fun. Where are you, anyway?”

“For today and tomorrow I’m in New Orleans.”

“Cool. Have I shown you the gown?” you questioned.

“You haven’t! Let me see, let me see!” she demanded excitedly. You opened the garment bag and showed her the red velvet long sleeve dress that had a neckline that plunged with diamond strings between the cleavage, and opened on the sides with more rows of diamonds and a slit that was only knee high.

“My god, woman, you’re going to give poor Tom a heart attack in that!” she exclaimed, admiring the dress.

“You think?” you questioned, unsure.

“Oh yeah. Those are going to show off the girls very nicely. You’re going to be stunning! I can’t wait to see all of the shots of you two together. Oh, how are you going to keep this a secret from James?”

You shrugged as you put the dress back up and finished with your make up. “If he asks about it, I’ll just say Tom asked me to come as a friend. You really needn’t worry about this,” you said.

She threw up her hands in a surrender. “Alright, alright. I’ll leave it be. I’m just jealous, I suppose,” she informed and stuck her tongue out. “Oh, I gotta go. Have fun! Lots of love!”

“Bye, sweetie.” You hung up the call and finished getting ready. You slid the dress on, put on the black velvet peep toe pumps to match, a diamond choker and matching earrings, grabbed your satin clutch and went to the kitchen to wait on your date. You were actually early for once.

James texted you.

“Just thinking about you, hoping you’re having a good night.”

“I am,” you responded, a smile coming across your face, as his words sunk in. “And you?”

“It would be better if I was with you.”

“You’ll see me on set tomorrow,” you reminded, ignoring how that comment made you feel.

“Not soon enough. Can I see you tonight?”

“I already have plans. I’m sorry. What about tomorrow night?”

“Aye aye, mate, that will work. See you tomorrow then.”

“au revoir pour le moment”

The doorbell rang and you happily skipped over to it.

“Tom!” you greeted, throwing the door open.

“Mademoiselle,” he greeted with a wide grin. “You look absolutely stunning. I see your stylist put my money to good use,” he remarked.

“This is actually a custom design I made,” you informed.

“Oh? It becomes you. It’s rather...daring,” he noted with a gulp.

You shrugged delicately. “Yes, well when you’re this good looking, why hide it all?”

“Indeed. Shall we?” he offered, gesturing to a car waiting for us.

“Absolutely.” You grabbed your clutch from the counter and locked the front door. You two got inside the luxury sedan and headed on your way to the premiere.

“Are you excited?” you asked.

“I’m nervous, to be frank. I always feel uneasy seeing films I’m in for the first time.”

“Why is that?”

“I feel like I’m my worst critic. I feel like I will critique every little thing I do.”

“And do you?” you wondered.

“Most of the time no, but then I do and I sit there wondering if everyone else noticed the blunder as well.”

You shook your head with a gentle laugh. “Tom, you’re a wonderful actor. Everyone loves you, and hell even if you have one miniscule facial cue that was off, so what? The directors and producers must’ve liked it,” you said. “I know you and I know how hard you work and how good you are, don't let anyone persuade you differently.”

“That’s very sweet,” he said before suddenly leaning in to kiss you, taking you by surprise, but to be honest, kissing him felt amazing after not seeing him for so long. When he pulled away from the loving kiss, he was still rather close. In a low voice, he said,  “Thank you for accompanying me, I know you’re busy.”

“Oh please, I’m happy to come. I’m just blessed you chose me over about a million women who would kill for this opportunity.”

Tilting your head up with his fingers on your chin, he looked into your eyes and said, “Yes, but they aren’t you.” He planted a few more kisses on your ruby red lips before pulling himself away. “I’m sorry, if we keep going we’ll smudge your makeup, and we can’t have that.”

You cleared your throat, just then realizing your arousal. “Mmm, no we can't have that.”

Finally, you made it to the premiere and you joined the line of cars that was letting celebrities out onto the teal carpet.

“You ready?” you asked, trying to get Tom spirited for his debut.

“So long as you’re by my side,” he breathed, gazing at you with that lost-in-the-moment look. He was swimming in your eyes and you couldn’t help but dive right into his grey-blues, the moment was cut short as Tom’s door was opened and he was greeted by Luke, Tom’s agent.

Luke bent down and leaned his head in. “Hey, Tom, you can go ahead. Oh, hey Y/N, how are you?” He waved slightly at you.

You smiled warmly at him. “I’m fine, Luke, how have you been?”

“I’m on my toes with this one here,” he informed, gesturing to Tom. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you. So do you. New suit?”

“Why yes it is.” He looked up and then bent back down. “Okay, it’s your turn.”

Tom climbed out then helped you out, immediately the flashes from dozens of cameras were blinding you. You never understood how the other celebs didn’t get dizzy as hell with all the flashing and shouting and chaos. People were calling to Tom for questions about Kong, Thor, other projects, and you… To dodge the question about you, he simply said you were there as a friend, thankfully. You hadn’t discussed the whole “Do we confirm or deny us dating?” PR bullshit yet, and the general rule in Hollywood was - if you haven’t discussed it, you deny it. The last thing anyone wanted in this business was for their secret lover to be outed when they didn’t want to be.

You took several photos together as Tom had his hand on your waist and your hand around his. While Tom was being asked about his films, you were pulled by a few people to ask about Juxtaposition and Renegades, the one you just got signed onto. Tom stepped away from you only a few times when he was asked to photograph with Sam and Brie. Brie and you complimented each other’s dresses and hugged, promising to talk after the movie.  

After what seemed like a million questions, hugs, familiar faces, new faces, autographs, photos, you made it to the end of the teal carpet and into the theater where you sat with Tom, Brie, Sam, John, and then all around you were the directors, producers, and editing team. The movie was absolutely incredible and you leaned over and whispered little compliments to Tom each time his acting was so on point you wanted to just scream. As much as you were an actress, you were a huge fan of films. You couldn't help but forget you knew half of these people as they transformed into their roles. It’s a stunning and surreal experience to say the least.

Once the film was done, you were lead to a private room for the after party which was huge. Music was playing songs from the soundtrack of the movie, so many guests were already dancing, colleagues of the trade were greeting each other, a few photos were being snapped. You and Tom walked in and soon Brie found you two.

“There you are, hey guys!” she greeted, coming up and hugging each of you. “Y/N, I haven’t seen you in like a year. How are you? I hear you’re working on...Juxtaposition, is that right?”

“Yep,” you replied nodding. “I’m fine. You did wonderfully, by the way! Excellent work in Kong.”

“Oh,” she said lightly, waving you off. “He’s the real star, the stud on your arm,” she insisted, motioning to Tom standing next to you who was blushing now.

Tom smiled and offered, “I’ll go get us some drinks. Brie, anything?”

“Champagne, please,” she requested kindly. She turned back to you as he left. “So, Tom, huh? Is it serious?”

“We don’t know yet,” you said honestly. “We’re just...going with it for now.” You shrugged as you both eyed him walking across the room.

“Well he’s an amazing man. He’d be a hard one to let go. Unless you’ve got someone on the side…” she insinuated.

Your eyes flickered to her and they said more than your words could.

“Gotcha, I’m not saying anything. Not my place to judge or say anything,” she said.

“Thank you,” you breathed. “And you? Anyone new?”

“Not that anyone knows about,” she informed with a devious expression.

“You scandalous girl, you,” you teased nudging her with your arm.

Tom came back with champagne for everyone.

“A toast,” you said, raising your glass. “To your successful, wonderfully acted, amazing movie, may it blockbust until the cows come home!” All of you laughing as you clinked glasses.

Brie excused herself as you and Tom sipped on your drinks for a few minutes, talking about the movie and your comments on it. He got pulled away by another director and said he would be right back. While you waited, you texted Ida about the movie and your night thus far.

You were so busy Tweeting, Facebooking, and checking Instagram, and being approached by a few other colleagues, that you hadn’t noticed Tom was gone for thirty minutes. Finally, he returned.

“I am so sorry about that, every chance I had to come back I got pulled another direction.”

“It’s fine,” you assured kindly, you knew just how that could happen at functions like these.

“Let me make it up to you. Would you care for a dance?”

“Yes, I’ve been dying to!” He grabbed your hand and led you to the dance floor. The song that was currently playing was rather upbeat and allowed you to dance almost a tango sort of a dance. You were dancing so well that a crowd began to form. Tom had several dancing lessons through his career and was an excellent partner and a terrific leader. Your feet swept across the dance floor as you glided. Somewhere in your bones you knew you two looked marvelous as the crowd of friends and stars watched you two move about the floor, making it your own. Too soon, the song ended but then it went into a perfect waltzing song and you thought you would squeal from delight. He took you in the proper frame and you began waltzing. Again, the crowd watched, mesmerized by every move you two made.

His hand in yours and his hand on your waist gave you a wave of butterflies as he led you across the floor, staring into your eyes and you staring back. The intimacy was so thick between you two it made your knees weak. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say this was a scene for a romance movie. The dancing continued for the rest of the evening, you knew your feet would be sore as all hell tomorrow, but you didn’t care.

The after party ended and some people were going to the “after-after parties” but Tom knew you had to work in the morning so you two piled into the car and set for your home.

It was quiet and dark in the car, the perfect atmosphere for you to play with his hands, lacing your fingers around his, tracing little patterns.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” Tom informed in a low voice in your ear.

“Me too,” you said as you peered up through thick lashes. Like someone flicked on the electricity, the lust erupted between you two and Tom was leaning over you, his mouth on yours as your hands moved to his curls and pulled slightly on them, causing him to bite your lip as a sexy laugh escaped both of you. It took a hell of a lot of willpower to not practically jump him there in the backseat, so much so that you found yourself a few times slightly grinding in your seat. You continued to kiss, nip, bite until you were at your house.

Watching Tom on screen for Kong was incredibly sexy, and you just happened to be dating him. Needless to say, you had a scratch that needed itching after watching him handle a gun and be incredibly masculine.

Courage capturing you for a moment, you asked quietly, “Would you like to come inside?”

“I’d love to.”

He got out and helped you out and you lead him inside by his hand, a giant grin painted on your faces. As soon as the door closed, he grabbed your face in his hands and began kissing you heatedly as he pushed you against the door, his hips and arousal pressing against you, making you melt into his arms. You couldn’t help but pick your legs up suddenly and wrap them around his waist. This seemed to launch him into a full blown frenzy as he carried you like that to the bedroom and had his way with you. He was better than you’d ever imagined.

-------------------------

The next morning, you woke up earlier than your alarm, kissed Tom on his back, and went out and make coffee, a frittata and some homemade fruit waffles in your silk, short robe.

“Smells good,” Tom said, his boxers hanging low on his waist as he came into the kitchen, making that familiar throb appear between your legs.

“Thank you, it’s almost ready.”

“You looked damned sexy with after-sex hair, in nothing but a robe,” he complimented as he came up behind you while you cooked, rubbing all over your body. You got lost in the sensation quickly and turned around and started kissing him over and over again. He picked you up, turned off the stove, and put you on the counter and took you again, amazingly well. Your name on his lips sounded like heaven as he thrust into you until you both found release. As well for him, shouting “Tom” over and over, seemed to bring him closer each time you screamed it.

When you were done, you ran and got ready, eating quickly as you were dressing, Tom following suit. Your cars rolled up, ready to take you both to your destinations.

“I had a really great time last night,” you said as you walked out together into the cool morning air. “Thank you for the dresses, so much.”

“My pleasure. When can we see each other again?” he asked fervently.

You bit your lip. “I don’t know. I think filming is about to pick up some more. I’ll check my calendar and let you know, will that work?” None of that was a lie, thankfully. A lot of interviews were about to take place soon.

“Sure.” He smiled and kissed your forehead then climbed into his car as you made your way over to yours, ready to head to the set.

---------------

A little over a week had passed and Tom was keeping in contact most every day, sending sweet notes that made your day brighter, while James worked on set with you to make you laugh and feel sexy and vibrant and strong. They both ended up sending more gifts to your house. Tom sent a book, one of your favorite authors and it was a book you didn’t own yet. James sent you a locket with a note that said, “Fill it with memories to keep close to your heart.” He must’ve remembered you saying you missed your parents back home and how sometimes you felt a little homesick and lonely out here.

It seemed like life couldn’t get any more perfect, except now there was only one problem - who do you choose? You thought after the first two dates it would be easier, simple, but it wasn’t. They both possessed qualities that women craved in men, and more often than not, went above and beyond to make you feel special, not to mention you were attracted to both. This was supposed to be a quick experiment, two or three dates and then you’d leave one, but you found yourself unable to choose between your Brit and your Scot.

It was Friday and you had an show with Jimmy Kimmel and decided to wear the pink lacey dress that you bought with Tom’s generosity. It was cut short and made you look almost like a modern day princess, prim and proper.

When the show was over, you were in your hotel room, hoping to catch some sleep before your red-eye flight back to LA when James called.

“Hey, there,” he greeted, your favorite accent coming at you through the phone, immediately relieving you of all stress.

“Hey,” you greeted back softly.

“I saw the show. You were wonderful.”

“Yeah? You think?”

“Yeah, absolutely marvelous. The dress looked beautiful on you too, the pink really brought our your eyes.”

Without thinking, you replied, “Oh thanks, Tom bought it for me.” Shit. What did you just say?

“Tom, as in Tom Hiddleston?” he said carefully.

“Yeah,” you said innocently, trying to disbar any concern or suspicion, as you closed your eyes and you bit your lip.

A bit of silence passed on the phone as you anxiously awaited any response from him.

“I see. Are you sure there isn’t anything going on with him? He seems to be around a lot lately,” he said, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

“He’s just a friend,” you asserted and left it at that.

He laughed lightly on the other end of the line as he said, “I suppose I’m being a bit jealous, aren’t I? I’m sorry. Well it looks beautiful on you. Say, I was wondering if when you got back tomorrow if you’d like to run lines again?”

You chuckled seductively. “Run lines like we did last time where we got nothing done? Or run lines where we actually work?” you teased.

“We’ll see where the night takes us,” he flirted.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

“See you when you get back, Y/N, I’ll be counting the minutes.”

“Au Revoir,” you quietly said.

“Bonsoir ma fleur de minuit,” he responded beautifully. From what you remembered of your gathered French, he just told you, “Goodnight, my midnight flower.”

-------------------

Saturday night, you made dinner and set the table and told James that you had made food so you could focus on work rather than pigging out on junk food like last time. You got wine chilled, made a quiche, some roasted potatoes, and made a dark chocolate cake for dessert. One thing you really missed from Oklahoma was all the home cooking, all the big meals, the family events….

James knocked on the door precisely at 6 and you welcomed him happily. You ate food, thanking him for his gifts, telling him you missed him and he returned the warmth. He said he was happy to do those things, he complimented your cooking, and was happy to see you again as well.

“Well, should we get through some of this scene for Monday?” you offered.

“Let’s. And hopefully we can get through it this time without someone distracting me,” he chastised.

You both stood from the dining room table as you made your way into the living room with your glasses of wine.

“I distracted you?” you asked.

“Well, I wasn’t the one to bring up Narnia,” he mentioned, shrugging with a playful expression.

“You’re just lucky I didn’t put on X-Men,” you warned, sticking your tongue as he sat on your couch.

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

You blushed as you turned your head away to sit your wine down on the coffee table.

“I...I-uh...I sort of...Have a crush on your character,” you blurted out so fast and mumbled you weren’t sure if he heard you.

“What was that?” he demanded through a small bout of laughter as he leaned up, trying to look at you.

“I...Have a crush on your character,” you said again, but slower and less mumbled.

He laughed as he leaned back and clapped, throwing his head back. “Oh that’s amazing. So you have a mutant kink? Or is it purely a Chuck kink?”

You took a sofa pillow and hit him with it. “Shut up,” you warned with a tease. “Can we just read our lines?”

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry,” he offered, throwing his hands up in an apologetic manner. He grabbed his script book and you grabbed yours. At first it was easy to get into character and you both read the lines seriously for about forty five minutes, a few times over before you moved on, and suddenly it was the makeout and sex scene that you had yet to shoot. You’d done two makeout scenes so far but this was the final one between your characters.

“Oh, we can skip over this if you want,” you said, shrugging, a blush creeping into your face. “I don’t think we need to rehearse that if you don’t want to.”

You looked up from your script to see what he wanted to do and you would’ve sworn someone put him under a lust spell. He was eyeing you hungrily, his pupils dilated as he alternated between biting his lip and licking it.

Your mouth and throat ran dry as you squeaked, “James?”

“Let’s rehearse it, if you don't mind.”

“I don’t mind,” you breathed, eyeing him.

You read your cues and started the kissing, gentle at first but then it was supposed to become more forceful, and James did just that. He pushed you with his hands on your shoulders onto the couch, his mouth molding with yours as you ran your hands long his back, your legs automatically coming to rest beneath him. His hands were rubbing your shoulders, then glided up to your hair as he pulled your head to the side and bit your neck, this wasn’t in the script at all but you weren’t about to stop it.

Eventually, you found your legs open and he was cradled between you as the kissing deepened, you pulled at the hem of his shirt and tugged it off, he was opening your blouse when your phone rang.

Between kisses, he asked, “Do you need to get that?”

You almost answered no, but then you realized it could be your family.

“Uh, maybe, it could be my family.”

“Ah,” he said as he climbed off of you and you jumped up and grabbed your phone from the counter. You saw Tom’s name across the screen and dashed into your bedroom and closed the door quietly.

“Hey, you,” you said, half hoping he would make this a quick call so you could return to what you were doing.

“Hey, how are you? Having a good weekend?”

“Terrific, how’s yours?”

“The usual. I had the London premiere today, then tomorrow I meet with Chris for something on Thor.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah.”

“Are you okay? You sound a little...busy?” he wondered.

“Oh, no, I was just...studying my lines.”

“Right, right! I’ll let you get back to it then, I should start getting ready anyhow. It was nice to hear you.”

“You too.”

“Well goodbye,” he said kindly.

“Bye.”

You hung up and rushed back out to the living room where James was waiting for you.

“Was it family?” he questioned nonchalantly.

“Uh, no, it was Tom,” you answered honestly. You were going to try being as honest as you could with them, even if a few lies got sprinkled in, it was killing you to do this to them but...you were selfish.

James scoffed as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on. “For a guy who’s just your friend, he sure is around a lot,” he noted with an annoyed tone.

“James, please. He just--”

“Just what?” he demanded as he got up. “Y/N, we were in the middle of a moment there and you stomped on it for a friend. I don't mind if it was your family, I get it, you want to talk to them whenever you can or if it’s an emergency, that’s fine. But when I’m in between your legs, it would be nice if your attention was on me and not that British bastard,” he spat at you.

“No, James, I--”

But he ignored you as he went to the door, wrenched it open, then slammed it shut. You stood there, stunned. What were you going to do? You considered calling Ida, but your phone rang in your hand and you nearly jumped out of your skin. This time, it really was your family. Sighing, you answered.

“Hey, Mom,” you greeted, faking some cheer. You weren’t unhappy to hear from her, you were just distraught from James’ outburst.

“Hey, bubbles,” your mom replied with your nickname. You earned it growing up because you were constantly blowing bubbles and loved bubble baths. “How’s my celebrity daughter doing?”

“I’m doing,” you said simply as you started to clean up dinner. “How’re you, Mom?”

“Oh, I’m alright. I saw you in the news.”

“Yeah? What’d it say?”

“It says your dating those two European boys,” she informed. You groaned internally. You did not need this on top of what else was happening.

“Something like that.”

“Hmm, well be careful. Your daddy says those boys are only after one thing,” she warned.

“Lucky for me I’m after the same thing,” you said back, teasing in your tone.

“Y/N!” your mom responded and you could just see her shaking her head as you laughed.

“Oh, Mom, calm down. I’m just having fun. I’m dating some men, what’s the big deal?” you asked as you finished loading the dishwasher.

“Well, nothing I guess. They’re saying awful things about you though and it just makes me madder than a wet hen.”

“Eh, you can’t let it affect you. I don’t even read that stuff and when I do, I remind myself that no matter what I do, I’m going to have those comments happen,” you reminded.

She sighed. “I know, but you’re my daughter and the things they’re saying….”

“I know,” you said quietly. “They’re idiots, Mom, don’t listen to them.”

“I saw you on Jimmy Kimmel too! I recorded it and I’m going to show Bethany.”

Bethany was your next door neighbor back home and your mom’s best friend.

“Oh, good. Did you like it?”

“I loved it sweetie. I also saw you on that Graham Norton show.”

“Oh…” You laughed uneasily. “That was...uh...well that was just…”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, dear, I was your age too once, remember?”

“Momma, you scandalous devil,” you teased with a grin.

“Hey, you’ve got it sweetheart, you need to flaunt it before age takes it away like mine.”

“You’re still beautiful.”

“Well thank you dear. Well I won’t hold you up, baby, I just wanted to check in. I love you, I’m going to go to bed.”

“I love you too. Tell Daddy I told him I love him too and tell everyone back home I said hi.”

“I will.”

You bid each other goodnight and hung up.

[elotroalberto]

AIFF Announces 2020 Selection Committee

CELEBRATING A 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

 AIFF is pleased to welcome three new judges that will join the Selection Committee for 2020. They are Belal Taheri of Iran, Sandip Pratihar of India, and Shahrzad Dadgar of Iran/Jacksonville, FL. With submissions growing beyond 2,000 films a year, there was a need to increase the Selection Committee that now totals sixteen members. We welcome the expertise of these judges and appreciate the local as well as international representation we have on the Committee. It is indeed a daunting task to view the numerous films and select those that will comprise the Film Festival. These judges are tasked with keeping the mission of the Festival at the fore of their decision-making process as well as evaluating for content and technical achievements. We thank those judges that have been with us since the inception of the Festival’s organization in 2010, to those that have joined along the way, and we look forward to working with new members of the team. Now meet the new judges!

Shahrzad Dadgar is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer from Hamedan, Iran. Dadgar earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in urban engineering from Azad University in Hamedan, Iran before pursuing a film career. As an artist, Shahrzad's work focuses on promoting understanding of women's empowerment, and women who have suffered from sexual issues. Shahrzad has received the coveted Golden Gazzale from the Persian Int’l Film Festival in Australia, the Best Inspirational Women in Film award from the Festigious Film Festival in Los Angeles, and Best Script award from the Cervaignano Film Festival in Italy. Dadgar is now attending Jacksonville University’s College Of Fine Arts in Florida on a talent scholarship grant and continues to make independent films.

Sandip Pratihar is an independent filmmaker from the small village of Tajpur in India. He enjoys working on surreal subjects, dramas, and documentaries. Sandip is also a screenplay writer, having written eight feature film scripts. He believes that film is a medium where people can enjoy time together, where they can discover both their joys and sorrows. His continuing endeavor is to make the kind of films where the lost and unwelcome voices of our world will reach the people.

Belal Taheri is an Iranian independent filmmaker and content distributor professional at Cineport media, an online submission platform that assists filmmakers and festivals. Belal has been a jury member for more than 56 international film festivals, Edinburgh, Oxaca, Jaipur, Euro, Ethnografilm, Mediterranean, and the Cannes Film Festivals to name a few. He is also the founder and director of the Cineport International Film Festival. 

Judges that will continue with us this year are:

Akasa Stephe Angba is an African filmmaker, producer, director, and editor from Nigeria, with over 15 years of experience as an independent film practitioner, film teacher and consultant. He studied film at the National Film Institute Jos, where he earned a professional diploma before moving ahead to earn a Bachelor’s Degree, all in film production. He was technical director for the Africa Movie Academy (the parent body of AMA Awards) and has coordinated and lectured on film across the continent of Africa through the Film in a Box-training Program organized by the Africa Film Academy. These trainings have been held in South Africa, Malawi, and Nigeria amongst other countries. He has also worked with the Nigerian government through the Independent Electoral Commission to ensure a violent-free 2015 national election using audiovisual content. He has complete productions for renowned NGO’s like Action Aid and Save The Children International, producing documentaries/audiovisual campaigns against child malnutrition in northern Nigeria. Over the years, his work as an independent filmmaker includes documentaries, feature films, short films, television films and series, add campaigns and music videos. He has worked on projects like ‘GRA Women’, a popular television series in Nigeria produced by PMO Global, ‘DAISY’, a feature film starring Nigerian and Ghanaian leading actors, and music videos like ‘FOR YOU’ by the famous gospel musician Dorcas Bentu. Akasa is a man passionate about culture and art, most importantly the business of it all.

Lawrence Benedict is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, has studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York, and is a veteran of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. He has performed on stage in over 42 full Equity productions, and in TV and film in both United States and Canada. In Los Angeles, he founded “Angus Lake Productions” where he learned most behind-the-camera disciplines while producing promotional video for studios such as Universal and directors such as Steven Spielberg. He has edited Disney trailers and a full-length feature he edited, "Forgiving the Franklins," became a Sundance Selection. Lawrence has taught at Banff School of Fine Arts, UCLA Extension and Screen Actors Guild. He is author of “The Video Demo Tape” – published by Focal Press, and “How to Shoot Better Camcorder Videos; Help from the Hollywood Pros.” Lawrence currently performs improv with “The Playground.”

Kate Bernhardt is an accomplished, innovative and creative marketing and communications professional with deep experience in content creation and management, marketing innovation, brand strategy, broadcast and Internet media, marketing campaigns, client and stakeholder management, event planning, team management and development, and translating industry best practices to build brands and drive business success.  A consensus-building leader, Kate has an energetic work style, strategic as well as tactical and a unique ability to successfully blend industry knowledge with management and content expertise. Kate is the Communications and Media Consultant for KB Media & Marketing and lives in Arlington, MA.

Alice Bouvrie brings over 20 years of experience in the film industry to her role as documentary Producer and Director. She holds a Master’s Degree in Film Production from Boston University, a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University, and is a graduate of the DGA Producers Training Program in New York. She is an active member of the Director’s Guild of America, and an active member and former board member of Women in Film & Video/New England.  In 2005, she was a Filmmaker-In-Residence at WGBH, Boston, and in 2011 won a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship. Bouvrie worked as an Assistant Director on feature films, TV series and specials, commercials and industrials for seven years before producing documentaries as an independent in 1993, forming Mineral King Productions. Alice resides in Arlington, MA.

Barbara Costa is a freelance project manager and multimedia producer of predominantly science subjects for online courses, websites, public television documentaries, educational videos and museum programs, and exhibits. She has produced interactive computer-based exhibits for the Louisville (KY) Science Center and Science City in Kansas City, MO. For nine years, Costa worked in documentary production at the NOVA series (PBS). Barbara is currently overseeing development and marketing for Spy Pond Productions and lives in Arlington, MA.

Paul Dervis has been teaching drama in Canada at Algonquin College as well as the Theatre Conservatory Ottawa School of Speech & Drama for the past 15 years. Previously, he ran theatre companies in Boston, New York, and Montreal. He has directed over 150 stage productions, receiving two dozen awards for his work, directed six films, and written over two dozen plays.

Alice Markowitz of Arlington, MA is currently consulting in communications, visual storytelling, and social marketing for mission-driven companies and non-profit organizations. A three-time Emmy Award winner, Alice’s career began in broadcast journalism--producing, directing and writing PBS documentaries for national broadcast on multiple series including NOVA, Blackside's This Far by Faith, and Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers. Alice earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar and a Master’s in Education from Harvard before becoming a Henry Luce Foundation Scholar in Asia.

Nuno Sá Pessoa is from Lisbon, Portugal. He began his studies in cinema and television at Universidade Moderna, Lisboa and went on to graduate from the European Film College in Denmark. Nuno directed his first independent work with two feature-length documentaries following, in which he did both cinematography and editing. He has worked in California where he edited a total of three feature-length documentaries directed by Kenneth Payton. Having moved back to his native Portugal, Pessoa co-founded Skookum Films.

Phil Pritchard was born in Epsom, Surrey, England and graduated from Mountview Theatre School in London. He appeared in the title role 'A Kitten for Hitler' (2007) directed by the legendary British Film director Ken Russell and in 'The Scouting Book for Boys' (2009) directed by Tom Harper and ‘Woman in Black: Angel of Death’ starring Thomas Turgoose & Holiday Grainger. On stage, he appeared in the West End production of 'A Little Night Music' directed by Trevor Nunn at The Garrick Theatre and as Henry Higgins in 'My Fair Lady' at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. After UK national tours of 'Lark Rise to Candleford' and 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' (York Theatre Royal), he was cast in the International Tour of Beatles Biopic 'Backbeat' (2013) written by Ian Softley (Trap for Cinderella) and Stephen Jeffries (The Libertine, Diana) and directed by 5-time Tony Nominee David Leveaux. Produced by Karl Sydow and Paul Elliot the West End show toured to Toronto & Los Angeles. In the USA he appeared in the film 'Tattooed Love' (2015) with Edy Ganem (Devious Maids) Laura Flannery (American Horror Story), Marlon Moreno (El Capo). Pritchard serves on several film festival selection committees.

Bernice Schneider is an award-winning documentary film editor. She received her Master of Science in Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab under the direction of Richard Leacock. Bernice has edited numerous films for PBS’s American Experience, Frontline, Nova Science Unit, American Masters, and Independent Lens. She edited the feature-length independent documentary film, Rebel, about the politics of national memory as viewed through the lens of the secret life of a Latina confederate soldier. Another feature, Angkor’s Children, focuses on a grassroots movement to reinvigorate the arts in post-genocide Cambodia. Angkor’s Children has screened nationally and internationally, including within Cambodia at the Bophana Film Center. She edited Alice Bouvrie’s film A Chance to Dress, winner of the Arlington International Film Festival’s Best Short 2015. She also completed A Perfect Crime: the Leopold and Loeb Story for American Experience in 2016. Most recently, she completed the editing of Laurel Chiten’s documentary, Just One Drop which premiered in London in 2017. Her films have screened at prestigious museums, both nationally and internationally. Bernice also worked in the field with national correspondent Charlene Hunter-Gault for PBS’s NewsHour in Kenya, South Africa, Haiti, and Somalia, where she edited stories on political and cultural change in the developing world. She has received honors and awards for her work including a Wallis Annenberg scholarship for women filmmakers, a CINE Golden Eagle, the Biographical Video Award, and an N.E.A. Regional Fellowship. Bernice also teaches editing at Emerson College and lives in Cambridge, MA.

Eric Stange, executive producer and founder of Spy Pond Productions in Arlington, is a writer, director, and producer of documentary television programs on history, science, and technology. His work has appeared on PBS, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic and the BBC. He specializes in both short and long format projects that combine rigorous research with innovative visualization techniques and imaginative storytelling. Eric has been a recipient of the Charles Warren Fellowship in American History from Harvard University. He is a member of the board of Common-Place, the leading academic website for studies in early American history, writes a column for American Heritage magazine on the history and new media, and is a visiting fellow with the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Before becoming a filmmaker Stange was a print journalist and wrote primarily about art and culture for newspapers and journals including the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Chronicle of Higher Education and other national publications.

Marga Varea of Arlington, MA is the founder and lead impact producer at Twin Seas Media, an outreach and distribution agency for independent documentary films and film festivals. With 20 years of experience in the film and television industries, Marga has a deep understanding of the filmmaking process from concept to distribution and a deep love for non-fiction. Marga develops creative outreach, engagement and communications strategies that raise the visibility of independent documentary films.  She designs and implements multi-platform, thorough impact and distribution campaigns for non-fiction media that questions the status quo and illuminates some of the most important issues of our times.  

Yahia Zakaria is a Film/TV Producer and Project Manager with a Bachelor’s in Cinema Directing from the Art Academy in Egypt. Yahia has more than ten years’ experience as a filmmaker and has supervised production and post-production for feature films, documentaries, TV commercials, TV shows, short films, and video clips. His last job was Head of Production at Era Media (Digital Agency) in Kuwait. He established and supervised Era Media’s Cairo office where he is currently freelancing and looking for new challenges.

Judges for the High School Student submissions are:

Saoirse Loftus-Reid is a Sophomore at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She’s originally a student at Lexington High School and was the winner of the AIFF Microsoft Special Award in 2018 for her short film The Art Collector. Her work has been showcased in a variety of film festivals including the All-American High School Film Festival in New York City, Kerry Film Festival in Ireland, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in Florida, and the San Diego International Kids Film Festival in California. She has won two regional awards for short-form fiction and long-form non-fiction and received three honorable mentions for her work with the non-profit organization Rubbish to Runway at the Student Production Awards in the National Academy for Television Arts and Sciences New England/Boston Chapter in her senior year of high school. As a freshman in college, she was nominated to the National Student Production Awards. She currently studies Business with Marketing, is an active member of the Edinburgh University Television Society as the Post Production Officer and was Director and 2nd Camera Operator at the Edinburgh University Filmmaking Society.

Shuyi Wang is a documentary filmmaker now living in Arlington. She is originally from Chengdu, China. Shuyi received her M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College and is currently a producer/director of HuaPlus TV Boston, the largest overseas Chinese online video platform, headquartered in New York. Her latest work, “Awaken the Dragon Together”, a short-format documentary about Massachusetts first dragon boat team for cancer survivors, featured and screened as a finalist of HUA International Short Film festival at Los Angeles, London and Tokyo in 2017 and the Arlington Int’l Film Festival in 2018. Her previous work has appeared in NBC, New England Center for Investigative Reporting, edX, HKS Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University, MIT Digital Learning and

CCTV-4

The AIFF Organizers are extremely proud to be working with such a professional team that is dedicated to our mission of offering a unique opportunity for cross-cultural education, promoting understanding of the many cultures represented in our town and beyond and recognizing that such diversity enriches our communities. We believe that this annual international film festival highlights core values and aspirations we share with our culturally diverse neighbors and with all members of the global human family.

[zachbot3000]

Therefore I Am from Peter McCoubrey on Vimeo.

A mysterious encounter between a man who claims to be from the future and the man that he claims is his former self. A surreal psychological thriller about loss and regret.

Terry Gilliam: "...very well done. I was surprised when it ended, I thought we were off on a much longer journey. Seeing that room filled with all the variations made me want to spend a lot of time with the problems that it would raise."

facebook.com/ThereforeIAmFilm twitter.com/ergo_sum_film imdb.com/title/tt4902636/ mccoubreybrothers.com Original Soundtrack by Ron Patane - itun.es/us/yz6-4

PRESS: FILM SHORTAGE - ONLINE PREMIERE - filmshortage.com/shorts/therefore-i-am/

INTERVIEW: CRACKED EYE - crackedeye.com/video/therefore-i-am

io9 - "In Therefore I Am, the McCoubrey brothers create a compelling time travel mystery in just six minutes. It leaves you with questions, BUT in a good way... It’s so slickly done, the editing seamlessly moving from one encounter to another. It’s great." io9.com/in-this-trippy-short-film-a-man-meets-every-possible-f-1740505785

FIRST SHOWING - " Get ready for a mindf*ck with this one... It is a "a time travel story", but not in the way you think. It reminds me a bit of that short Interview With a Time Traveler, but even more intelligent." firstshowing.net/2015/watch-impressive-surreal-time-travel-short-film-therefore-i-am/

DISINFORMATION - "The McCoubrey Brothers have once again made a hauntingly atmospheric short worthy of seven minutes of your time." disinfo.com/2015/11/therefore-i-am/

AIN'T IT COOL - "(the) McCoubreys' have given us a time travel film that feels original - something I can't help but be impressed by... This thing is packed to the brim with solid performances, strong visuals, and a kickass score!" aintitcool.com/node/73659

DIGG - "Today's Best Short" digg.com/video/therefore-i-am-short-film

TWITCH FILM - "a very well crafted bit of work built around a simple, and very well executed, idea" twitchfilm.com/2015/11/watch-the-mccoubrey-brothers-indie-scifi-short-therefore-i-am.html

GEEK TYRANT - "Are you ready to have mind messed with? Therefore I Am is a very intelligent film that I know film buffs will enjoy." geektyrant.com/news/stylish-and-intriguing-sci-fi-psychological-thriller-therefore-i-am

GEEK ART GALLERY - "The McCoubrey Brothers are quickly garnering a reputation for enigmatic films, and they pack a lot of small details and subtle implications into this short." geekartgallery.blogspot.com/2015/11/short-film-therefore-i-am.html

MOVIE PILOT "The time-traveling suspense of Therefore I Am needs less than seven minutes sitting in both older and younger Herbert's shoes to get your heart pumping... So many questions in such a short amount of time. Therefore I Am delivers mystery and suspense in the best possible way." moviepilot.com/posts/3662672

LIVE FOR FILMS - liveforfilms.com/2015/11/06/cool-short-therefore-i-am/ LO-FI SCI-FI - lofiscifi.com/therefore-i-am-short-film/

FILM FESTIVALS: NITEHAWK SHORTS FESTIVAL - Brooklyn, NY November, 2015

Check out our previous short film and Vimeo Staff Pick 'The Grey Matter' vimeo.com/112527960

STARRING Older Herberts - KEVIN BREZNAHAN (Superbad, Winter's Bone) imdb.com/name/nm0108362 Younger Herbert - JD TAYLOR imdb.com/name/nm3682650

Directed by THE MCCOUBREY BROTHERS mccoubreybrothers.com Written by PETER MCCOUBREY imdb.com/name/nm1203494 Produced by CODY RYDER imdb.com/name/nm2291162 Director of Photography LUKE MCCOUBREY lukemccoubrey-dp.com

Music & Sound Design RON PATANE imdb.com/name/nm1219505/ Production Designer LATISHA DUARTE latishaduarte.com Costume Designer JACLYN MCCOUBREY jaclynmccoubrey.com Make Up FX & Hair ANNA BEARMAN imdb.com/name/nm3900655/ Casting Directors FAYE GRANDE & DAVID MORRIS grandemorriscasting.com Make Up Assistant TALYSHA HAZLETON tallyhoe1025.wix.com/moneemakeup#!contact/c175r 1st Assistant Camera CLAIR POPKIN imdb.com/name/nm2422752/ ERIC SCHWAEGER imdb.com/name/nm4035914/

Sound Mixer ALBERTO LEON imdb.com/name/nm4032359/ Gaffer ADAM LUKENS imdb.com/name/nm1935022/ Motion Control Tech NICK MIDWIG imdb.com/name/nm3541831/ Stills Photographer MIKE NOGAMI mikenogami.com Production Assistants JASON GREY imdb.com/name/nm3830114/ ED LOUIS linkedin.com/pub/ed-louis/13/71b/992 Colorist TIM ZIEGLER imdb.com/name/nm2513648/ Re-Reording Mixer DAN TIMMONS imdb.com/name/nm3535024/

©2015 McCoubrey Films LLC

[stringnarratives]

Medium Matters: The Double Life of “Walter Mitty”

[This post brought to you with spoilers for James Thurber’s short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” published in The New Yorker in March 1939, as well as the 2013 film of the same name that is based on it. It does not directly deal with or mention the 1947 film adaptation, but may contain spoilers due to its nature.]

“I was thinking,” said Walter Mitty. “Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?” 

There are certain narratives that each of us immediately connects to throughout our lives. Sometimes, it’s a story that strums just the right chords in our souls - the setting is somewhere we’d want to be, the characters are people we’d want to know, and the story just makes a deep kind of sense. Sometimes it’s because a story inspires us deeply, teaches us something new that we know we’ll carry forward with us after it ends. And sometimes, it’s because we recognize something familiar within it. 

I first read James Thurber’s 1939 short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” when I was in elementary school, probably only ten or eleven years old, flipping through a literature and language textbook and stumbling upon the story by accident. 

The short story focuses on - you guessed it - one Walter Mitty, a man on a weekly shopping trip with his wife in Connecticut. He spends the day lost in daydreams, imagining himself a pilot, a surgeon, the defendant in a trial, assuaging the routine bore of his errands with internal stories of heroism.

As someone who loved stories even then - and hosted a parade of imaginary friends and adventures throughout my childhood - to find a whole narrative about a grown-up lost in their own inner worlds was fun and eye-opening. 

Some years later, while the story had hung around in memory, I found my excitement for it renewed with the 2013 release of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” adapted from the short story that had been published 74 years before.

In the movie (which happens to be one of my brother’s favorites), Walter Mitty (played by Ben Stiller, who is also the film’s director) is the daydream-prone negative assets manager at Life Magazine, which is moving to publish its final print edition before becoming an online-only publication. As the transition team, including the smug and patronizing Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott), moves towards to downsize the magazine, Mitty discovers that the photograph, taken by roving photographer Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn) and meant for the final cover, is missing. In an attempt to impress co-worker Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig) and break out of what he perceives to be an unadventurous existence, he sets out on a journey to find the lost image and discovers it in an unexpected place. 

As with any adaptation of written word to film - especially when dealing with mediums of different length, as in a full length film and a short story -, the two narratives tend to diverge in many expected ways (a concept we’ve covered well on String). The movie is naturally more focused on visual appeal, emphasizing bright colors, particularly blue, in the environments where Mitty finds himself and using them as a bridge between reality and make believe, while the short story is based heavily on audible sensations, including the conversations happening inside Mitty’s head and the “pocketa-pocketa-pocketa” onomatopoeia that accompanies his many daydreams as the sound of an anesthesia machine or a flamethrower. Where the Walter Mitty on-screen tends to have more time between his daydreams, it can be assumed that all of story-Mitty’s happen over the course of a couple of hours. And where we have a clear depiction of the characters in the movie, the short story asks the reader to engage in their own form of imagination by giving few details about the physical characteristics of its players and engaging more directly in the daydreams themselves. 

None of these divergences are particularly earth-shattering in their existence, but are, rather, simply different ways of presenting a story in formats that have different sensory foci. 

What’s perhaps more interesting to compare is how the interpretation of Mitty himself evolves over the course of more than seven decades.

In some ways, the two Mittys are very similar. Where there are are at least a few theories that Mitty in the written story is a reflection of Thurber himself, one could find at least one big reference to Thurber’s life in the film as well - this being Mitty’s long-term position on the Life Magazine staff in New York, where Thurber was a cartoonist and writer for The New Yorker in his day. Both Mittys are treated as if their daydreaming is an affliction, with written-Mitty’s wife suggesting he would be best seeing a doctor and film-Mitty is mocked by his new boss for “zoning out” at inappropriate times. And both Mittys’ daydreams are based on real life stimuli, though they take on a life of their own. 

However, it becomes clear very on in both narratives that the two Mittys exist in very different versions of the same world and therefore must also be very different people.

The time period in which each of these stories takes place is likely important to the divergent evolution of the two Mittys. The Walter Mitty of 1939 daydreams of heroism in exaggerated ways that are still, somewhat, based in true life stories. In his daydreams, he is a surgeon, an assassin testifying in court, and a pilot claiming a military victory against German forces (which would have taken Czechoslovakia just days before the story was first published in the immediate lead-up to World War II). They are more “classic” stories of heroism and success, holding out little room for the completely absurd.

Alternatively, when we examine the Mitty of “today,” we can see that many of his daydreams may begin “believably” - like saving a dog from a burning building - but quickly dissolve into something slightly more extreme, like bursting through the wall of his office as a snow-covered explorer, riding the tops of taxi cabs beat his boss to a stolen gift, or living his whole life with Cheryl, but aging backwards like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Benjamin Button (another piece that might someday get its own Medium Matters). His daydreams are less “classically heroic,” but also more cinematic. Which, while we might blame totally on the medium here, we could also ascribe to the difference in era for both the audience AND the character himself. Both the potential viewers of the film and film-Mitty himself would have seen many more CGI-filled action movies with “suspension-of-disbelief” plots, meaning that both our expectations and his daydreams would have more fantastical fuel to feed off of than would have been available to the masses at the time of the short story’s publishing.

It also makes sense that their daydreams would be different because they are daydreaming for different reasons. Written-Mitty daydreams out of boredom and a distaste for an activity that has happened so many times before that he knows the routine as a chore and no longer has the desire to pay attention, even when there are minor changes required of him. Meanwhile, film-Mitty daydreams because he is dissatisfied with his life, tired of comparing himself to others and feeling stuck because of caution or circumstances.

This, in turn, also affects the attitudes that each Mitty holds at the end of his story must also play towards the differences in the characters overall. Despite the fact that his wife is concerned and irritated by his daydreams, written-Mitty, at the end of the story, does not try to end the habit, but rather “faces the firing squad” both in his imagination and as a manifestation of his mentality towards the misinterpretation of his thought processes. Alternately, film-Mitty, at the end of his tale, is satisfied with the version of himself that he has become in his adventures, and - we can assume with the lack of surreal imagination scenes - forsaken daydreaming for what he has found in real life. 

For almost 80 years now, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has been an entertaining and affecting story, whether in its original short, written version or as a full-length film. While the stories may be different in many ways, they carry forth a message about the power of the inner self, the power of the mind, and, whether it meant to or not, the power of a character that can adapt to the time period in which he is placed and prove that maybe having your head in the clouds isn’t so bad after all.

[a-h-arts]

Perhaps the most gorgeous "coffee table book" I've ever seen I had been eagerly awaiting this since I pre-ordered. Literally within the hour of hearing this book would be produced, I hit the *order* button.(Unfortunately, the first copy I got was ruined by poor delivery handling. Just as fortunately, Amazon's fantastic customer service policy ensured I received a pristine copy the next day). Go to Amazon

"The first time I saw a ghost..." It is amazing see the amount of detail done on a grand scale that goes into del Toro's movies. People really step up to add to his Symbolist aesthetics. Set to the tone of a Gothic Romance, yet with the surreal color vividness of a Giallo movie it's truly mesmerizing. Details throughout the sets made to props create and invoke feelings of fear. Furniture is changed to large or small depending on the characters. The walls seem as it they breath, show bruising, and rot. They can seem expansive, and then at another moment seem suffocating. The house is a character and it won't let go so easily of the other characters (or the following readers). The characters' biographies, along with their certain symbols, are thoroughly discussed in these pages. Go to Amazon

GORGEOUS art from a stunning movie I absolutely loved Crimson Peak when it came out, and knew that I had to get my hands on this book. It's a little pricy, given that it's essentially a large picture book, but it is SO worth it. If you, like me, found yourself utterly enthralled with Crimson Peak and left the theatre dying to know more, then this book is for you. So many small details are in this book that aid to the overall understanding of the movie (for instance, I found out that Jessica Chastain actually had very small scars all over her body for this role, something I hadn't noticed the first watch through of the movie). Go to Amazon

Gorgeous book for fans What makes Guillermo delToro's bold Gothic vision a masterpiece is the director's grand attention to every little detail. This film is a work of art, and this coffee-table book companion to it is a lovely keepsake to have if you are a fan of both the movie itself and of artistically superior filmcraft. The editing of the text within could have been sharpened (no pun intended! honest!) up a bit more, but that is a very minor thing. Beautiful photo stills and elegant cover pages (Butterfly for Edith Cushing, dark Moth for Lucille Sharpe, etc.), along with clever little bits fashioned to look like documents of the time period are all within. A mock-daguerreotype image of Sir Thomas Sharpe and one of his unfortunate brides is particularly interesting to look at. Long story short, this book is sumptuous. One word of caution: there is some very disturbing (sexual) content in regard to the plot twists and also some extreme illustrated/photographed grotesquery--albeit very arty--that is not suitable for young children. Go to Amazon

Beautiful book to accompany an equally beautiful movie Beautiful book to accompany an equally beautiful movie. Fans of the movie will enjoy a behind the scenes look at how everything came together. Go to Amazon

Great book with a slight production problem Beautiful book. Well written with fun extras stuck on pages throughout the book. But as reviewer J'amie said, the silver ink that was used to print the text and the single color images in the book was not allowed proper drying time after printing. The ink transferred to pages opposite and sometimes this was on full color character shots. The ink also transferred in hard lines on pages before and after a page if it had one of the inserts on it. Go to Amazon

beautiful book! Super nice photos and very nice pages ... Five Stars Wonderful book that has all kinds of hidden notes and ... Phenomenal Art Book So good that I bought 3 copies! Its a great in-depth look of the movie Five Stars One of the best purchases I ever made. mostly pictures Amazing, good quality

[thelookstudio]

Personal Development Plan – November 11 2017 , instalment.

  Our new project encourages us to explore the concept and term – Still Moving.

 I hope to be able to shoot a short video (3min as per the brief) or stop motion film on the subject of nature or, perhaps, the forces of nature.

 This could be as simple as a series of dissolving still images, with a music soundtrack, or perhaps a woodland scene with the movement of water, wind, sunlight.

 I will shoot on my own compact camera and produce an MP4 file suitable for viewing on my blog https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thelookstudio or YouTube.

 I should like to photograph the Burren and the Atlantic coastline, during winter, to capture images of the alpine flora and land ravaging sea and weather.

 I would like to document the changing face of Ireland from the viewpoint of early picturesque photographic locations to show how they have changed, if at all.

 I am inspired by the photographic work of Charlie Waite, Fay Godwin, and Bill Brandt.

 Charlie Waite works primarily with colour and whilst I do not like some of the sky effects he creates, using filters, I admire his juxtapositions of form and light and the very contrasting colours he manages to embody.

  Bill Brandt often incorporates the human form into his distorted and often surreal landscapes. He uses wide angle lenses to great effect together with careful composition and  controlled depth of field.

Perhaps better known for her portraits of literary figures, Fay Godwin’s landscape photographs reflect a connection with time and place. From ancient and historical sites to isolated country lanes and the degradation of the landscape by industrial pollution, she captures the atmosphere in intense black and white.

So far, this third level course has introduced me to many new digital techniques in the Adobe editing suites, Photoshop and Premiere.

 We are currently looking at incorporating sound into our movies.

 Whilst the creativity and power offered the artist by these programs is truly amazing I still look towards the more traditional techniques as being my way forward.

 At my age the possibility of obtaining a position in the film or commercial photography world is highly improbable and so I want to look at ways of developing a practice with which I am comfortable enough in terms of ability and expenditure to work on my own or in a small group.

 Research has brought the work of photographers from around the world to my notice and it is at once stimulating and humbling.

 It makes me wonder if there is a way for me to advance in analogue photography. It is still used by some artists, in digital photomontages for instance, but it’s use as a medium on its own seems very niche-oriented, and more readily pursued by “amateurs”, although the photographic industry is still supporting film, albeit in a very small way.

[steveradical]

Reflection

This project lasted 4 weeks; Radical Nature being the theme of what we based our projects on. I was in the image and communication group which focused on ‘book end’. We considered what our book would be about and how to possibly in-cooperate our project develops into a refined comic, zine etc.

Initially i thought about creating a comic based on exaggerated actions as it related to radical; being far-reaching and thorough. This led to the research of sin city which consists of strong violence and acts of complete extreme.

My first step was to illustrate a comic narrative that demonstrates the use of extreme actions.

It was a step forward in my project because I began thinking of why human beings would commit these extreme acts of sin. It led to focusing on Triple X chromosomes in Men, Mental Health (Related to Drug Abuse) and whether or not these acts were justifiable. In violent movies, the victims of these acts are often portrayed as the villains and we love to see the good man/woman their justice.

Mental Health was my next step after the focus on extreme violence. I started to dissect the symptoms and the causes that may lead to mental health. Possibly the use of drugs, traumatic events or even developed at birth.

Ian Miller produced a short animation called 'Mak's Pararsite' that visualized a drug user's parasite; representing his desensitization to drug abuse and how Mak had to try get his 'fix' by trying out different methods to gain a high. His parasite became apparent to him in a physical way and Mak wanted to extract the parasite out of his body, which led to cutting himself open with a kitchen knife as an attempt to find the parasite, however it's all a hallucination. It's also giving a message of how easy it is to overdose, because Mak also experienced a delayed high and all the drugs he had taken all came at him at once.

I moved away from the extreme actions and started to visualize mental health (schizophrenia and drug abuse) by drawing how these voices in someone's head could feel like to them. So I illustrated a ghostly figure screaming in someone's ear to suggest that it can't be blocked away. Which I thought about things that people could see that aren't apparent in reality; Hallucinations, Dreams, Mirage or Illusion.

Hallucination was the next area I studied, I began linking Hallucination to Surrealism; leading to the research of Alice Zilberberg who currently works as a surreal digital photographer in Canada, And she takes her subjects, manipulates them digitally and gives them a perspective of hallucination. I mimicked Alice's use of digital manipulation onto some of my own primary photography and separated the subject’s limbs which gave it a surreal theme and a relation to hallucination.

I stuck to illustration and drew the digital edit as an illustration to develop something new which can lead to other areas to work in. By this point I had 1 week left to produce a book, so I started to consider how to refine these ideas into a book; The book also had to be decided on. A zine was a choice because I had the idea of producing several of these crazy deformed human figures and incorporating them into a book.

I also took a digital process of Alice's and started to color these images in to give them more life and experimenting with colour was exciting as I never actually do it. I'm usually about line work.

The book was all made in Photoshop and saved as .JPEGs then they were combined into a PDF ready to be printed as a booklet. Once printed I would use the workshop's process of the 5-hole saddle stitch so I could demonstrate that I can be independent and apply what I've learnt from a workshop into my own work.

I do believe that I could improve upon this project as I kept moving from one idea to another, I just get taken over by loads of ideas and I can’t focus on it long enough, however I’m pleased with the new style that was evolved in this project and they will potentially be involved in a portfolio.